Stripping Down Proposition K - Why San Francisco Should Decriminalize Prostitution
Published October 30, 2008 @ 10:41AM PT
Editor's note: I'd like to welcome Karly Kirchner as a guest blogger. She has worked for eight years in San Francisco's sex industry, and argues below in favor of passing Proposition K, a ballot measure up for vote on Nov. 4 that would decriminalize prostitution in the city. Tomorrow, I'll post some views from the other side of the debate.
Supporting Prop K does not mean that you advocate prostitution. Prop K is about supporting the rights and health of all San Francisco residents, including prostitutes. Prop K asks San Franciscans to look past their socially-conditioned attitudes about prostitution to the human lives that are impacted by prohibition.
Prop K decriminalizes the act of exchanging sex for money. Prop K does not hinder the ability of law enforcement to investigate any crime that is related to trafficking, child abuse or sexual assault.
Decriminalization does not mean that there are no regulations. For example, a carpenter is not ‘legalized' but simply is not a criminal. There are plenty of regulations in place that protect the carpenter as a worker, the community in which the carpenter is working (such as materials, zoning, noise, etc) and a carpenter can apprentice, be trained or join a union. Under decriminalization, sex workers would have similar rights, but also have civil, labor and social guidelines to follow.
Prop K will reduce violence. Predators target sex workers because they believe that nobody cares about this criminal class of women. Both legal and social alienation of sex workers makes them easy targets for those who wish to do harm. More often than not, violence is committed against sex workers by those who do not want to pay them and/or those who want to take money away from them, including law enforcement officers. Prop K allows for safer communication between workers and safe clients, minimizing exposure to danger.
San Francisco spends over $11 million a year to arrest adults who are exchanging money for sex. This money would be better spent assisting women and families with housing, health care and education, reducing the need to do prostitution to make ends meet. After arrest women are forced into shame-based diversion programs and fined. This does nothing to eliminate the need to do prostitution for money, it actually increases need and reduces a worker's ability to stay safe. By passing Prop K San Francisco will actually reduce the amount of people working in prostitution.
San Franciscans do not have to fear an influx of prostitutes working in the city, the market will not sustain it. I speak from personal experience. San Francisco is not a top city to travel to. Because living expenses are so high in the Bay Area and few jobs are available that actually pay the full amount of one's rent, many people are moonlighting as prostitutes, causing market saturation.
Prop K will not defund social service projects. Proponents of Prop K support keeping services open and available to sex workers. Prop K opposes forcing sex workers into these programs. The current policies make it more difficult for women to find adequate work and housing by giving them a criminal record. This creates a cyclical problem that puts women in the hands of a criminal justice system that breaks down families and prays on the poor by fining, incarcerating and tracking a disproportionate number of people of color, especially women. If prop K passes, social service groups can be more efficient at addressing core issues for people in sex work.
Laws exist that outlaw sex with minors, forced or coerced sex of any kind and labor abuses. These laws would remain intact, giving SFPD all the power necessary to investigate and take appropriate action against violent criminals. Prop K makes it safer for workers and their clients to expose and testify against traffickers and abusers without fear of being targeted as criminals themselves. Prop K is a move in the right direction for San Francisco.
Karly is a feminist and sex worker living in San Francisco. She's been in the sex industry for over 8 years working as a dancer, model, escort and Dominatrix.
Read More:
Alternet
Smart Voter
On The Issues Magazine
Rights For Sex Workers
Ending State Violence Against Women in Prostitution in San Francisco
Act Helps Health and Safety of Sex Workers, report says
Feminists Advocating for Rights and Equality for Sex Industry Workers
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Comments (9)
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Author
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Karly is a feminist and sex worker living in San Francisco. She's been in the sex industry for over 8 years working as a dancer, model, escort and Dominatrix.
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I support the rights of sex workers in San Francisco and elsewhere for people who choose to be in that profession. However, there are an estimated 17,000 people working in the sex industry in the US by force. Many of them are young women from Russian and the former Soviet bloc, south Asia and Latin America. They are lured to the US with promises of a good job and place to live. Upon arriving, their documents are confiscated by traffickers and they are forced into prostitution. Without having proper documentation or speaking English, they have nowhere to turn. Obviously, most people voting in favor of Prop K are not in favor of sexual slavery, but it is the sad reality that exists.
A yes vote for Prop K will be great for many sex workers in San Francisco who choose that profession but will devastatingly hinder efforts to thwart sexual slavery in the US and internationally by
a)keeping local law enforcement from investigating sex and trafficking crimes
b)stop funding for programs that assist survivors, and women and children currently being held in sexual slavery
Prop K has good intentions, but is flawed and potentially harmful to the 17,000 women and children in sexual slavery in the US. Before you cast your vote, please try and understand the consequences for all involved.
The Not For Sale Campaign opposes Prop K and I'll stand with them. http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
Check the Slavery Map to see actual cases of sexual slavery in your neighborhood. http://slaverymap.org/
Links to forced prostitution cases in San Francisco. This is the hidden reality.
http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/July/20050701182254cmretrop0.2110865.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/10/MNGN9LFHRO1.DTL
Posted by Alexandra K on 10/30/2008 @ 01:23PM PT
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It is not necessary to arrest consensual sex workers in order to stop human trafficking. If the current strategy is so good, why have there been ZERO prosecutions for trafficking in SF in the past two years? Why not try a different anti-trafficking strategy, like the one employed in New Zealand and parts of Australia, where prostitution is decriminalized?
Posted by Slava Osowska on 10/30/2008 @ 02:48PM PT
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"A yes vote for Prop K will be great for many sex workers in San Francisco who choose that profession but will devastatingly hinder efforts to thwart sexual slavery in the US and internationally"
Prop K will not impact the ability of any agency, within SF or anywhere else in the country. Alexandra K and others opposing proposition K are dangerously equating consensual sex with rape, making it nearly impossible to investigate and convict real traffickers.
There are tens of thousands of people working under slave conditions on farms and in restaurants. Shall we outlaw eating food to curb the demand for these unfair practices?
People stop thinking rationally about this because it is related to sex, and the people working against Prop K have a negative attitutude toward sex and women who have sex outside of the confines of traditional relationships (including same-sex relationships). Because they can't imagine what it's like to be us, to do this work without being scarred by it (at least if you can avoid the attacks from people who oppose decrim) they can't imagine that we are real people, that we have a legitimate demand for equal rights and equal protection and they cannot fathom the very diverse identities and experiences of sex workers. Therefor they oppose us and our efforts for liberation while claiming that they support women's/workers' rights.
They have history and taboo on their side sadly.
Posted by Karly Kirchner on 10/30/2008 @ 04:36PM PT
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Tonight at 10 p ET Melissa Francis examines the world of high-end prostitution in the CNBC Original “Dirty Money: The Business of High-End Prostitution”. In every city in America sex is for sale and much of it
operates in plain view. But, there’s one corner of the trade protected like none other... the business of high-end prostitution where clients can spend hundred of thousands of dollars each year. It’s a secret world with rules and practices that will change everything you think you know about the buying and selling of sex. Join Melissa as she ventures into this secret world.
For web extras visit http://dirtymoney.cnbc.com.
Posted by Joe John on 11/11/2008 @ 08:28AM PT
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I know that many think the issue is about women and their choice to choose a profession. I think there is a bigger issue that is not being consider. The average age for beginning prostitution in the U.S. is 13. 13 - who can be for that?
Posted by Karen Peterson on 12/01/2008 @ 08:15PM PT
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There are vaious statistics about the age of entry into prostitution, and not all research on prostitution is representative of all segments of the industry. Thus, it is important not to overgeneralize research results. Prostitution with 13-year-olds would still be illegal under laws prohibiting sex with minors. All that decriminalizing prostitution would do is make it so that the exchange of sex for payment is not in and of itself a crime if no other laws are being broken. However, in the case of underage prostitution another law is being broken-sex with minors-and that would still be a crime. Furthermore, under the criminalization of prostitution, minors are sometimes being incarcerated.
Posted by Passionate Activist on 01/30/2009 @ 04:52PM PT
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We need to change the fact that prostitute victims go to jail. They are the victims - they shouldn't be in jail, their pimps and johns should be. But we can make that happen without legalizing prostitution. Also, all the services that need to be set up to help prostitute's can be set up without it being legal. Making it legal changes nothing we can't do for the victims while keeping it illegal. Some studies suggest the number of victims can range as high as 90-95% of all prostitute's.
Posted by J jamiesolome on 05/13/2009 @ 07:21PM PT
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we need brothels in every major cities in US where sex workers and johns with SEX CARD can enter. sex cards should have their current STD/HIV status from licensed doctor as well as their sexual violence history. anyone with big red flag should not be entered into the facilities and we should place bouncers for body search for deadly weapons and there should be a camera in each room for any violence. taped videos can be used and presented at the court for restriction in their sex card. people should be able to search each other's sex card number using their registration number on internet for particular HIV status and sexual violence history. sorta like ebay seller's account. any licensed doctor who do not register or hide their patient's HIV positive history should be punished harshly as it endangers public health
Posted by Ryan C on 07/12/2009 @ 02:06AM PT
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If prostitution was legalized, it could be regulated. People could be screened regularly for STDs to stop the flow of dangerous uncurable STDs throughout society. Prostitutes would no longer fear being beaten or violently victimized because the industry could be closely regulated by authorities to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Due to no longer being criminals for their profession, prostitutes could also take their problems to the authorities without fear of being criminalized for their profession.
The criminalization of prostitution affects everyone in society, not just those engaged in the activity directly. Diseases spread - they don't stay contained in a little box only infecting people involved in prostitution. Those people involved in prostitution go meet other people and the diseases spread, increasing the risk for everyone.
Prostitution should be legalized so that it can be regulated to stop the transmission of STDs. Making prostitution illegal only drives it underground and makes it more dangerous, just as is the case with the prohibition of drugs.
Posted by Jason Martin on 02/07/2010 @ 06:03PM PT
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