Reply to Decriminalized prostitution in DC: 15 hour council hearing 10/17-10/18

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Sex workers’ rights advocates have long argued that criminalization of sex work makes people who are in the commercial sex industry less safe.  In particular, criminalization forces sex workers to move their work or structure their work in such a way as to avoid police contact.  
Avoiding police might mean sex workers need to go to more remote locations, which can be more dangerous.

Criminalization of sex work also puts sex workers at risk of police violence.  In one 2008 study, nearly one in five sex workers and people profiled as sex workers said they had been asked for sex by a police officer, and one respondent said she had been “made to perform sexual favors to avoid being charged with prostitution.”

Trans women are also especially likely to be arrested on sex work charges, even if they’re not doing sex work.  Trans women are routinely arrested under the law for doing nothing more than walking in public.

In addition to exposing people to police violence, sex work arrests can take a toll on workers’ ability to support themselves and their families.  A lot of times the courts are imposing fines and restitution on someone that’s already impoverished.  In Washington, DC, fines can be as much as $500 for a first offense.

Being convicted of sex work–related offenses also gives sex workers a criminal record, which can make it hard to find housing or non–sex work employment. This falls especially hard on trans women of color, who already face employment discrimination.  In a 2015 survey by the DC Trans Coalition, more than 40 percent of trans respondents said they’d been denied a job because of their gender identity, and 55 percent of black trans respondents were unemployed.[/quote]

It might be nice if you answered the actual concerns being raised on this thread, instead of copying and pasting from your white paper.

[/quote]

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