DSW Staff Attorney Rebecca Cleary traveled to Rhode Island to testify in support of three important bills making their way through the Rhode Island legislature. DSW is working towards the ultimate goal of the decriminalization of consensual adult sex work and advocating for incremental measures that states can take to reduce exploitation and violence perpetrated against sex workers and survivors of trafficking. If passed, these bills introduced in RI would bring immediate health and safety benefits to individuals engaged in sex work. Rebecca was joined by Tricia Newalu, founder of the Erotic Laborers’ Association of New England (ELA-ONE), who testified that since an immunity law was enacted in her home state of New Hampshire, sex workers have been able to share critical information about violent individuals with law enforcement.

H6140, currently being reviewed by the House Judiciary Committee, grants immunity from prosecution for commercial sexual activity to any victim or witness of a crime if they report the offense to law enforcement, seek or receive health care services as a result of their involvement or witnessing the offense, or assist or attempt to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the offense. Importantly, this protection is honored even if they later withdraw their cooperation. S402 is currently being reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and would offer similar vital protections around immunity as the House bill.

People involved in the sex trade, whether by choice or by force, fraud, or coercion, often are victims of violent crime and exploitation, but frequently don’t report crimes perpetrated against them due to fear of arrest. When abusers are not reported to law enforcement, they are able to continue acts of violence and exploitation with impunity. Immunity allows sex workers and trafficked people to safely report crimes and seek medical care without the fear that they themselves will be criminalized. They equip law-enforcement entities with an increased ability to identify, investigate, and convict perpetrators of violence and trafficking. Immunity laws directly protect victims and witnesses of violence and they ultimately benefit all communities by allowing law enforcement to better detect criminal activity.

Read more about the importance of immunity laws, also referred to as Good Samaritan Laws, and states that have enacted them here.

S0372, in front of the Senate Judiciary committee, establishes criteria for the criminal offense of sexual assault when the victim is in the custody of a peace officer. It provides that a person convicted of custodial sexual assault would face imprisonment for not more than 3 years. Forty states have laws making sexual interaction between a law-enforcement agent and a person in their custody illegal.

As Clearly wrote:

While I am writing as an advocate for sex workers, this is an issue that affects a much wider swath of community members. Police sexual violence is the second-most prevalent form of police violence behind excessive force, but because victims are often hesitant to report their experience, there are likely exponentially more cases than have been documented. Sexual assault is, of course, already illegal; however, victims are understandably reluctant to report an assault to the same law enforcement entity that caused their victimization. They may fear that they will face retaliation, that they won’t be believed, or that the offender will claim the encounter was consensual. A law explicitly prohibiting sexual assault of someone in law enforcement custody is necessary to ensure these crimes don’t go unreported.

Custodial sexual assault can affect anyone who comes into contact with law enforcement, but sex workers and trafficking survivors are especially vulnerable to police sexual violence. The International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Addressing Sexual Offenses and Misconduct by Law Enforcement Executive Guide even acknowledges that “predators select victims based on vulnerabilities and a perceived lack of credibility, and therefore, victimization is often higher among certain populations including … individuals in prostitution and/or the commercial sex industry.” Offenders take advantage of the stigma surrounding sex work and can exploit their authority to coerce victims into unwanted sexual contact by threatening arrest.

Read DSW’s publication on Police Sexual Violence Laws here.

Elected officials, law-enforcement officials, sex workers, and anti-trafficking and sex workers’ rights advocates gathered to announce the introduction of S.125, an act related to voluntary engagement in sex work, and its companion bill in the House of Representatives, H.372. Lead senate sponsor Senator Becca White (D-Windsor) was joined by nine co-sponsors and 13 other representatives signed on with lead house Sponsor Representative Taylor Small (P/D-Winooski). Each bill, which would repeal the state’s archaic prostitution laws, has been referred to its chamber’s judiciary committee.

State’s attorneys Michelle Donnelly (Washington), Ward Goodenough (Windsor), Vince Iluzzi (Essex County), and Ian Sullivan (Rutland) joined the bills’ supporters at the Vermont State House. Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, not in attendance, has stated her support for the decriminalization of consensual adult sex work.

“Regardless of how one feels about prostitution personally, I hope we can all agree that criminalizing it is wrong for so many reasons. Our laws should be rooted in reality and data, instead of morality and ideology. This bill reflects Vermont’s commitment to personal and bodily autonomy and individual liberty,” said Senator Becca White (D-Windsor).

“Criminalization compromises access to resources, endangers public health, and allows violence against sex workers to go unchecked. Criminalization also fails to protect trafficking survivors. Decriminalization is a well-researched, practical, and simple step we can take in the fight against trafficking, while we work to address the nuanced causes of trafficking and invest in meaningful resources that support victims,” said Representative Taylor Small (P/D-Winooski).

“We all share a common goal of protecting our most vulnerable residents from trafficking, violence, and exploitation and it’s clear that criminalizing and stigmatizing the sex trade does not do this. Those of us trusted with the power to make, change and enforce laws have a duty to pay attention to evidence that shows us when we can do better. Modernizing our prostitution laws only reinforces our commitment to fighting trafficking and exploitation,” said Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough.

“Through the decriminalization of consensual adult sex work, Vermont has a powerful opportunity to put its values into action. Those values are autonomy, community safety, and the recognition of the inherent dignity and humanity of all individuals. The best way to keep somebody trapped in a system of oppression is to keep them in a cycle of criminality and stigma. I want to get old, and I want to see my friends get old. I want us to live and thrive not under scrutiny, but in mutual respect and real community care,” said Henri Bynx, co-founder of The Ishtar Collective, Vermont’s only organization run by and for consensual adult sex workers and survivors of human trafficking.

Vermont legislators have introduced decriminalization bills in past sessions, but this is the first time that the Senate has also introduced a decriminalization bill. The bills would repeal the state’s laws prohibiting both prostitution and “indiscriminate sex.” Support for decriminalization and sex workers’ rights is gaining traction in Vermont.

On March 21, the House Committee on Judiciary heard testimony from DSW Staff Attorney Rebecca Cleary, Emma Honingford of The Ishtar Collective, and a researcher from Yale University on the importance of passing H.22, “An act relating to sexual exploitation of a person who is being investigated by law enforcement.” H.22 states that “No law enforcement officer shall engage in a sexual act with a person whom the officer is investigating, detaining, arresting, or otherwise holding in custody or who the officer knows is being investigated, detained, arrested, or otherwise held in custody by another law enforcement officer.” Vermont already has a law banning sexual contact between a law-enforcement officer and an individual in their custody, stating that this interaction would inherently be non-consensual because the power differential between law enforcement and civilians is too great. Passing this ban on investigative sex would make Vermont’s law on custodial sex complete and offer robust protections from police sexual violence.

Read coverage of Vermont’s pending decriminalization legislation here and here.

Watch the press conference at Vermont’s State House announcing the bills here.

Sex workers, allies, and advocates, including Decriminalize Sex Work (DSW) Legal Director Melissa Broudo,  DSW Staff Attorney Rebecca Cleary, and DSW Consulting Attorney Allison Kollins gathered in the New York State House in Albany, NY, to urge legislators to decriminalize consensual adult sex work. DSW plays an active role in DecrimNY, a statewide coalition that organized the group’s visit to the Capitol. Approximately 100 individuals took part in DecrimNY’s Lobby Day which began with a press conference and also included numerous meetings with assembly members and senators.

“Sex Work is Work” could be heard throughout the State House during the press conference. The media heard from advocates including Elisa Crespo, executive director of The New Pride Agenda, and Jared Trujillo of The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). Sex workers and survivors of exploitation also spoke about the urgent need to decriminalize as did Senator Julia Salazar, lead Sponsor of S.4396, the Stop Violence in the Sex Trades Act (SVSTA) in New York. The bill would decriminalize consensual adult prostitution offenses and amend provisions relating to the prosecution of such offenses and vacating judgments. Senator Salazar introduced the bill in early February and it was referred to the Senate Codes Committee.

SVSTA’s co-sponsors include Senators Jabari Brisport, Kristen Gonzalez, Cordell Cleare, Robert Jackson, Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos, Gustavo Rivera, and Luis R. Sepúlveda. SVSTA amends and repeals several existing statutes and penal codes so that consenting adults who trade sex, collaborate with, support, or patronize adult sex workers aren’t criminalized. In addition, the bill allows individuals to trade sex in spaces where legal business is permitted while upholding that maintaining exploitative workplaces where coercion and trafficking take place is a felony.

DecrimNY hosted several trainings and meetings prior to Lobby Day with the goal of preparing attendees. The trainings included information on current laws around sex work, as well as a briefing on the legislative process, how lobbying works, and how to lobby effectively.

Advocates were encouraged by the attention and momentum garnered by their presence in the Capitol on March 1. DSW will continue to work with elected officials, advocates, and DecrimNY to pass SVSTA, which was first introduced in 2019.