Content Warning: Sexual Assault, Physical Violence
Op Ed: The Importance of the Decriminalization of Sex Work Samantha Lapenna
Sex workers are endangered by the criminalization of their profession. Legislators unjustifiably allow their emotions to influence policy decision-making and use human trafficking as a red herring fallacy to evoke fear in the public. This depicts prostitutes as prisoners of their profession and completely neglects the concept of bodily autonomy. Current repressive policies forbid the purchase and/or sale of sex to protect the "ordinary citizen" from this believed-to-be immoral practice and fail to recognize it as a legitimate career. The “common prostitute” is dehumanized by this symbolic and physical separation from the citizenry and consequently will face substantial health and social inequities that will decrease their quality of life. Nobody should have to jeopardize their safety to earn a living. Sellers must often meet clients alone and in discrete locations because soliciting in groups or on the streets is illegal. This is a violation of their right to public assembly. These workers are three times more likely to experience sexual or physical violence from a client. Also, workers are less inclined to report such events to the authorities because of the stigma associated with their job, and the risk of potential criminal consequences and increased surveillance. Possession of a criminal record creates a significant barrier to finding alternative employment. Officers and clients use this to coerce prostitutes into performing without pay. This is sexual assault, extortion, and borderline slavery. In the USA, police fine or arrest women who advertise in public places and sometimes use the possession of condoms as supporting evidence. This obliges workers to continue to sell sex to pay off these fines and encourages them to not use protection. As a result, their risk of infection with HIV or another sexually transmitted infection (STI) is doubled, therefore their right to life is violated.
