Yes on K: “Sex Work Is Not A Crime”
For SF residents, Measure K is on the city ballot this November (one of 22 SF measures): “Changing the Enforcement of Laws Related to Prostitution and Sex Workers.” Simply put, Measure K would decriminalize prostitution:
Proposition K would prohibit the Police Department from providing resources to investigate and prosecute prostitution. It would also prohibit the Police Department from applying for federal or state funds that involve racial profiling to target alleged trafficking victims and would require any existing funds to implement the Task Force’s recommendations.
Proposition K would require the Police Department and the District Attorney to enforce existing criminal laws that prohibit coercion, extortion, battery, rape, sexual assault and other violent crimes, regardless of the victim’s status as a sex worker. It also requires these agencies to fully disclose the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against sex workers.
Proposition K would prohibit the City from funding or supporting the First Offender Prostitution Program or any similar anti-prostitution program.
The Board of Supervisors would be able to amend this measure by a two-thirds vote if it found the amendments would reduce criminalization of prostitution and violence against sex workers. [emphasis mine]
Ultimately, K would increase the safety of sex workers by enabling them to access health care, report crimes (whether as witnesses or victims, and sex workers are disproportionately likely to be victims of assault, rape, and other violent crime), and work without fear of being jailed. Whether you support, oppose, or don’t have an opinion on sex work, K would lead to a better, safer situation all around.
In today’s SFGate, Violetblue gives some background on the history of sex work in SF and interviews Patricia West, activist and sex worker. It’s a good read that clarifies some of the arguments for K while addressing the opposition arguments: Sex Work Is Not A Crime
VB: Anti-K pundits seem to think that all sex workers are victims, and seem to be muddying the issues by saying that Prop K would make human sex trafficking harder to stop. What’s the difference between sex work and human trafficking, and why can’t anti-K people seem to be able to tell the difference?
PW: Sex work is consensual adult sex for pay. Human trafficking is done by force and coercion. Proposition K will not prevent law enforcement from investigating and prosecuting human traffickers. Additionally, when Proposition K passes, workers and clients will then feel free and safe to report abuses in our own industry without fear of prosecution. The opposition is using the term as a scare tactic; their hope is to associate Proposition K with this reprehensible practice. This is their dishonest campaign strategy and it does a disservice to the voters of San Francisco.
VB: So, will there be legal brothels in SF if it passes?
PW: No, there will not be legal brothels in San Francisco when Proposition K passes. Proposition K is about the decriminalization of prostitution, not legalization. Decriminalization is a reasonable balance between legalization and criminalization. Proposition K will stop the city’s prosecution of prostitutes. It requires that the Police Department and District Attorney’s office vigorously enforce laws against extortion, battery, rape and other violent crimes; regardless of the victim’s status as a sex worker.
VB So, if a sex worker is raped or beaten, as it stands now she/he/they are afraid to report the crime and seek help. San Francisco’s past showed that decriminalized access to health care for sex workers over 100 years ago had an enormously positive impact. Does Prop K have anything to do with sexual health in the city like that?
PW Proposition K will improve public health by lessening the stigma that prevents many workers from seeking basic health-care services. Also, possession of condoms is currently used as criminal evidence against workers. In my experience as a Street Outreach volunteer, I have had some workers refuse condoms for fear of arrest.
Between Spitzer and David Vitter, sex work and sex workers are much in the media this year. Hopefully, Yes on K will be able to capitalize on that attention and pass in SF. For more information on the proposition, see the Yes on K website. To volunteer, email info@yesonpropk.org.
pocochina said,
2008 September 11 at 12:27 AM
Wow, a crime bill that might actually protect some people. AWESOME. I hope it passes.
ka-ja said,
2008 September 11 at 8:30 AM
How can we get a similar measure on the ballot in other cities? I hope this starts a trend.
pizzadiavola said,
2008 September 11 at 8:37 AM
I hope so, too, pocochina! -fingers crossed-
pizzadiavola said,
2008 September 11 at 9:05 AM
ka-ja, the process for getting measures on city ballots varies from city to city, but generally it involves filing an application with the city’s Department of Elections (or equivalent department), getting a petition with X number of signatures to show support for the measure, and paying a fee. If you email the folks at info@yesonpropk.org, they’ll probably have some more detailed information about the process of gathering signatures, getting through the bureaucracy, etc. Good luck!
Ballotpedia has a short entry on ballot initiatives and referenda that provides some background on them.
Yes! on K « random babble… said,
2008 September 12 at 11:34 AM
[...] post info By Ouyang Dan Categories: random babble Tags: h/t, sex work, sex workers’ rights h/t to Pizza Diavola. [...]
christine said,
2008 November 20 at 12:42 PM
Most high priced call girls love their work. Because they can think for themselves, and can use their brain. Having women make good money, sometimes even more than lawyers and doctors per hour elevates women. Woman know how to handle men in the bedroom. Women get men to pay lots of money for it. This is empowering to women. There are many jobs that you may consider demeaning, such as cleaning bathrooms, or putting up with bosses that put you down. While making minimum wage. Why don’t people talk about these low paying toilet cleaning jobs? You don’t think these jobs demeans women? How many unskilled women with no work experience and not much education can make hundreds, even thousands of dollars per hour? Would you rather have these women make five dollars per hour cleaning toilets? Prostitution if done correctly elevates women especially if they work for themselves. Government should not control who people have sex with. That is the biggest government control that is possible. If the government tells people who they should sleep with, what is next? That is the highest level of the government controlling the people that can possible happen. If the government controls the most private, personal sex relations, what is next?
christine said,
2008 November 20 at 12:43 PM
The opponents of this Proposition K are telling lies, and scare tactics to get people to vote against it. Proposition K requires authorities to enforce existing laws that prohibit coercion, extortion, sexual assault, underage workers and other crimes regardless of whether or not the victim is a sex worker. So this is not a valid augment. The opponents are saying that all prostitutes are forced to do it against their will. Yet they can never find many victims of this. Where are all these victims? Why aren’t they coming out and talking and showing themselves? It is very difficult to force anyone to do something against their will. They would need to kidnap women, hide them away, have 24 hour guards, have them watched over like being in prison, with no chance to escape, force them to have sex, all under the radar of police and the general public. Do you think just anyone can do this? Do you think this is so easy that it happens all the time? Try getting someone to do something they don’t want to do and see how successful you are – you won’t be. Since this is a victimless crime, the opponents need to invent a victim in order to get support. They could have chosen the johns, the sex workers or the city itself. They chose the sex workers to be the victims even though it’s the sex workers who want to decriminalize because they realize it’s the police, justice system and the government that hurts them, not the johns or pimps. Why is it that the ONLY people who are working for this to pass are the prostitutes themselves? Why would the victims themselves want this to pass? Maybe it is because they are victims of the police, justice system, and government who abuse them and their customers. These are the real abusers