Sex Worker Rights Are Human Rights
The government has spent years blaming backpage, sex workers and clients, for minors who engage in survival sex, which conflated sex work with sex trafficking. Recent campaigns aim to bring awareness of child sex trafficking, recent research has suggested that the public’s understanding of sex trafficking is misinformed. A research report, Youth Involvement in the Sex Trade: A National Study by John Jay College and the Center for Court Innovation, contested the myth that youth engaging in the sex trade(s) were all victims of sex trafficking.
When government-supported entities and funded stakeholders are not held accountable for accurate trafficking data, the burden of proof lies upon public knowledge of such data. Incorrect data purposely distorts the right of the public to make informed decisions and skews the balance of how far governments can regulate consensual sexual freedoms. We find this deeply problematic as sex trafficking in minors or adults has not proven to be epidemic. No statistics put forth by the U.S. Justice Department, FBI, or credible research has shown an epidemic. Factually, government statistics represent hyper-criminalization and arrests disproportionately affecting communities living in economic disparities and in communities of color.
LAW AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT BY GOVERNMENTS
The rights of all sex workers to participate without discrimination in decisions affecting their lives must be respected. In establishing laws and policies relevant to sex work, whether they relate to entry, participation or exit, governments should ensure the meaningful participation and consultation of sex workers, including, in particular current sex workers. Participation must involve sex workers from marginalized groups and those facing discrimination on the basis of, for example, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, caste, ethnicity and Indigenous identity. To be effective, such consultation must allow participation of sex workers in a way that permits anonymous engagement and other measures required to protect them from criminalization, retaliation, or harm. The consultation process should also ensure effective access to information and resources to allow meaningful engagement.
For more information, please refer to this letter which was drafted by several USA Sex worker rights organizations.
