On January 25, 2021, State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and Assemblymember Pamela Hunter (D-Syracuse) introduced the Sex Trade Survivors Justice and Equality Act before both legislative chambers in New York. If the bill succeeds, New York will be the first state in the country to implement legislation addressing sexual exploitation based on the Equality Model. The Equality Model is a “five-pronged legal approach that holistically addresses prostitution,” and it seeks to (1) decriminalize people in prostitution; (2) provide trauma-informed services to those currently facing prostitution or seeking to exit the sex trade; (3) punish sex buyers to reduce demand; (4) criminalize pimps and any others seeking to profit off of commercial sexual exploitation; and (5) implement community education programs to raise awareness about the harm and trauma that people in prostitution face at the hands of johns.
Every year, between 70,000 and 80,000 people are arrested for prostitution crimes, but sex buyers make up only 10% of the arrests. The commercial sex trade is based on supply and demand – when the demand for sex increases, the supply of people in prostitution increases in response. The proposed bill in New York attacks the demand for the sex trade by strengthening laws criminalizing sex buyers, traffickers, and profiteers, while decriminalizing those in prostitution. Criminalizing and punishing sex buyers halts the incessant demand for the illegal sex trade and prevents more vulnerable individuals from being pulled into prostitution. Targeting, arresting and criminalizing prostituted persons has shown time and time again to be ineffective at eliminating sex trafficking and diminishing commercial sexual exploitation. Additionally, many people in prostitution find it impossible to leave the life due to trauma, manipulation by their trafficker, social stigma, addiction, poverty or feeling like they have no other options. Following the pillars of the Equality Model, the proposed legislation in New York aims to reduce demand for the sex trade, and, in turn, minimize the number of people sexually exploited to meet that demand.
The commercial sex trade benefits from the failure of social services to victims and survivors. The Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act helps victims and survivors by expanding access to these services. It is well documentedthat persons in prostitution need incredible support as they navigate escaping the life. According to The Life Story, a survivor led campaign to end sexual exploitation, women and girls need employment opportunities, housing, education, peer support, mental health support, and a clear criminal record to fully break free from their trafficker. The proposed legislation seeks to address these issues by extending New York’s Safe Harbor protections for minors to young adults up to age twenty-four and enabling a broader pool of people able to access services from organizations combatting gender-based violence. These dedicated support services for survivors are necessary to help those exit and stay out of the sex trade.
Finally, the proposed legislation advances several criminal justice reforms in the realm of commercial sexual exploitation. Past charges for prostitution and loitering will automatically be expunged, and survivor’s records will be cleared of crimes committed during their exploitation. The bill will further address mass incarceration and implicit bias in policing by penalizing sex buying as a misdemeanor and imposing a fine based on an income scale that will be put into a victim’s compensation fund. With prostitution and other convictions on their records, survivors face insurmountable barriers to safe housing, employment, social benefits, and education. Feeling as though they have no other options, these barriers can drive survivors back to exploitation. The Equality Model and the proposed New York legislation recognize that survivors are victims – not criminals – that deserve support from the community, not the shame and stigma of a prostitution conviction.
The CSE Institute stands with survivors and advocates for the passage of the Sex Trade Survivor’s Justice and Equality Act and commends Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Pamela Hunter for introducing this vital piece of legislation.