DSW Meets With Lawmakers in Boston

This month, Decriminalize Sex Work (DSW) staff traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to meet with local advocates and lawmakers for a series of conversations about much-needed legislative reform. Together with members of the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective (BSWAC), DSW staff held seven meetings with legislators and their aides at the Massachusetts State House to discuss two important bills currently before the legislature: S.1062 and H.4610.

S.1062 would remove archaic and stigmatizing language from Massachusetts law, including references to “common night walkers” and “common street walkers,” along with the penalties tied to those provisions. The bill also establishes a safe reporting law, allowing people to report crimes without fear of arrest for prostitution or possession of a controlled substance. This is a life-saving, common-sense policy that ensures people are able to seek help and report violence safely. Similar safe reporting legislation was passed in New York and Rhode Island last session and already exists in 10 additional states.

H.4610 would create a study commission on the decriminalization of sex work in Massachusetts, an important step toward evidence-based policy reform. A commission like this can help lawmakers better understand the harms caused by criminalization and examine what a rights-based approach to sex work policy could look like in the Commonwealth. Rhode Island passed a resolution forming a similar study commission in 2021. The final report conducted by the commission was released in 2023 and recommended the full decriminalization of consensual adult sex work in Rhode Island.

We urge lawmakers and constituents in Massachusetts to support this critical legislation ensuring that sex workers and survivors of trafficking are centered in policies that promote public health, safety, and dignity.