HEALTH
Poll Shows Broad Support for Sex Work Decrim
Report shows voters across age, political spectrum back reforms
BY MATT TRACY
A majority of American
voters across party
lines support comprehensively
decriminalizing
sex work, according to a
polling data conducted by YouGov
on behalf of non-profit think tank
Data for Progress.
The polling data, unveiled as
part of a comprehensive report contextualizing
the sex trade, shows
that 52 percent of registered voters
in the US support removing “criminal
penalties for adults to sell and
pay for consensual sex while also
maintaining laws that criminalize
violence.” Plus, the greatest share
(49 percent) of respondents support
defunding vice squads, which
are police units tasked with enforcing
sex work-related laws that
often target sex workers through
undercover raids.
The report was published by organizations
including the Human
Rights Campaign, the ACLU, the
National Center for Transgender
Equality, the National LGBTQ Task
Force, and the Center for HIV Law
and Policy. The report shed light on
the discriminatory origins of trafficking
laws, ranging from Congress’
1910 passage of the Mann
Act — which largely targeted black
men who dated white women — to
the controversial SESTA/ FOSTA
legislation of 2019 that was intended
to curb sex trafficking but has
been widely criticized for driving
sex workers off safer online platforms
and into more vulnerable
environments.
The polling data was conducted
entirely online in November of last
year and included responses from
1,048 individuals who live in different
➤ GMAD, from p.8matt
and that it was now using an “interim
space.” The address for that
space, which McGruder provided,
had the same street number as
the Flatbush Avenue address, but
was in fact on Jefferson Avenue
in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the site of
Members of DecrimNY canvass in Harlem this past October.
regions of the United States.
There are varying levels of support,
with 26 percent saying they
“strongly support” full decriminalization
and another 26 percent offering
a more moderate “somewhat
support” position. Twelve percent
somewhat oppose decriminalization
and 23 percent strongly oppose
it. Thirteen percent are not
sure where they stand on the issue.
The data yielded particularly notable
results when broken down by
age and the passage of time. Individuals
between the ages of 18 and
29 consistently show stronger decriminalization
and defunding of
vice squads, and the support has
only grown stronger with the passage
of time.
For example, in a separate poll
in May of last year, just 45 percent
of voters supported removing
criminal penalties for adults who
engage in the sex trade, meaning
that number climbed about six
percentage points in a six-month
the Siloam Presbyterian Church.
Reached by phone, a staffer at the
church said that GMAD has held a
single meeting there.
McGruder lives in Ohio and
teaches at Antioch College. Taylor-
Akutagawa did not respond to an
email sent to his GMAD address or
to phone messages.
PHOTO TWITTER/ DECRIMNY
timespan. It was during that timeframe
that DecrimNY — the coalition
to decriminalize sex work in
New York — blossomed from its
inception in February and helped
bring the issue into the broader
public discussion. The issue also
became a national talking point on
the campaign trail, as advocates
started pushing 2020 Democratic
presidential contenders to back decriminalization.
The November poll also revealed
key information about the political
leanings and geographical locations
of respondents. When broken
down by party affiliation, 64
percent of Democrats, 55 percent
of independents, and 37 percent of
Republicans support decriminalization.
It should be noted that, in total,
785 respondents were white, 106
were Black, 95 were Hispanic, and
62 were listed as “other.” Seventy
percent of Hispanic respondents
said they support decriminalization
compared to 54 percent of
“A fundraising campaign will
soon begin to finance the move to
permanent office space in Brooklyn,”
McGruder wrote. “We will
be in touch when we are ready
to launch the community health
center. Thanks again for your interest.”
In a later email, he added,
“We’ll resume service delivery and
white respondents and 38 percent
of Black respondents.
The report also elaborated on the
disparate impact that the current
state of the law criminalizing consensual
sex work has on different
demographics groups. The report
stressed that decriminalization
would bolster LGBTQ rights, since
queer folks disproportionately
trade sex for shelter; support gender
equity, since women are overwhelmingly
stereotyped and singled
out as sex workers; advance
racial justice, since communities
of color are disproportionately targeted
for sex work-related offenses;
and increase public health, since
criminalizing those engaged in the
sex trade can interfere with HIV/
AIDS prevention and treatment efforts,
among other factors.
The report featured testimony
from sex workers who expanded on
their experiences under laws such
as the loitering for the purpose of
prostitution law in New York State
known as “walking while trans.”
A growing coalition of lawmakers
and advocacy groups in the state
have called on legislators in Albany
to repeal that law, which has been
used by law enforcement to disproportionately
target women — especially
trans women of color — for
simply walking down the street or
for wearing certain clothing.
While a comprehensive decriminalization
bill was introduced in
the New York State Legislature last
year, a concerted push to repeal
the “walking while trans” law in
particular is expected to ramp up
this legislative session and advocates
appear to be confident that
lawmakers will finally move to
wipe it from the books before the
end of the year.
meetings at the new location.”
GMAD has not updated its website
with a new address, but the
site does have live links to fundraising
appeals on gofundme.com
and Snowball.
In June 2019, Gay City News vis-
➤ GMAD, continued on p.13
January 30 - February 12, 2 12 020 | GayCityNews.com
/gofundme.com
/GayCityNews.com
