Abstract
This article presents a case study of how sex worker and anti-trafficking organisations and activists in San Francisco, California, worked together to develop and pass the ‘Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy’. This policy, as enacted by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and the San Francisco Police Department, creates a legal environment where people can come forward and report to law enforcement when they are a victim of or witness to an array of violent crimes while engaged in sex work, and not be arrested or prosecuted for their involvement in that criminalised behaviour or for any misdemeanour drug offences. The article details how the groups came together and the challenges they faced while developing the policy. The work was fuelled by the recognition that no one wants people in the sex industry to experience violence. That is true whether selling sex is their choice, influenced by their life circumstances, or something they are being forced or coerced to do. The Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy is a unique example of the way in which sex workers, people who have experienced trafficking, service providers, activists, women’s rights policymakers, the police department, and the District Attorney’s office came together around a common goal.
Highlights
A LutnickThis article is a case study of how sex worker organisations and activists worked with anti-trafficking organisations to create the ‘Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy’ in San Francisco, California
The Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy is a unique example of the way in which sex workers, people who have experienced trafficking, service providers, activists, women’s rights policymakers, the police department, and the District Attorney’s office came together around a common goal
The ‘Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy’ as enacted in San Francisco is a unique example of the way in which sex workers, people who have experienced trafficking, service providers, activists, women’s rights policy makers, the Police Department, and the District Attorney’s Office came together around a
Summary
This article is a case study of how sex worker organisations and activists worked with anti-trafficking organisations to create the ‘Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy’ in San Francisco, California. 16 The key organisations and individuals included Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Bay Area Sex Worker Advocacy Network (BAYSWAN), the Department on the Status of Women (DOSW), the Human Rights Commission, LYRIC, the Public Defender’s Office, San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR), Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP), Standing Against Global Exploitation (SAGE), St. James Infirmary (SJI), US PROStitutes Collective, and researcher alexandra lutnick. Both the SFDA and SFPD expressed concerns about the prevalence of violence being perpetrated against sex workers in San Francisco and saw the proposed policy as an effort towards curbing violence by ensuring that victims feel safe to report crimes, regardless of their involvement in the sex industry They recognised that sex workers and people exploited in sex work are subject to violence and sexual assault, and when many of these crimes go unreported, law enforcement investigators are unable to hold. Outreach to sex worker communities is currently underway to ensure that people know about this resource
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