POLITICS
De Blasio: NYPD Should Stop Arresting Sex Workers
Mayor signals support for some changes, but remains vague on full decriminalization
BY MATT TRACY
Mayor Bill de Blasio
on March 16 said he
no longer wants the
NYPD to arrest sex
workers for engaging in sex work
and he called on the State Legislature
to take action to decriminalize
sex work, but he is remaining
vague about his specifi c position
on the issue at large.
“If you’re talking about sex work
alone, of course I don’t want to
see arrests for that anymore,” the
mayor said during a press conference.
De Blasio kicked off his presser
on March 16 by expressing his desire
to “end the criminalization of
sex workers” and combat sex traffi
cking, saying “sex workers are
often those who are subjugated,
who are victims of traffi cking, who
are people who think they have no
other choice.” The mayor said his
administration is creating a task
force to address the “health and
safety needs” of sex workers and
said the NYPD would be developing
“new approaches” to target sex
traffi ckers rather than sex workers.
But de Blasio did not specify
whether he believes decriminalization
should extend to all individuals
involved in consensual sex
work — including buyers, sellers,
and those who facilitate sex work.
And while he also said the city
would be creating “state legislative
framework for decriminalizing
sex work,” he did not say whether
he backs the Stop Violence in the
Sex Trades Act, which was fi rst
proposed by state lawmakers 2019
and would broadly decriminalize
sex work.
A spokesperson for de Blasio did
not respond to multiple emails from
Gay City News asking whether he
backs the comprehensive decriminalization
bill or about his stance
on sex work decriminalization in
general.
The city did release a “NYC Police
Reform and Reinvention Collaborative
Draft Plan” on March
12 stating that the “NYPD will
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio seeks reform for sex workers, but is not specifying the scope of
those reforms.
collaborate with other agencies
to maximize their ability to arrest
and prosecute traffi ckers and
violent offenders without collateral
trauma to people engaged in
consensual sex work or victims of
exploitation.”
Following de Blasio’s press conference
on March 16, the administration
put out a press release
with quotes from advocates who
welcomed the new plan. De Blasio
also said in that release that he
wants to “end criminal penalties
for sex workers” but said nothing
about ending penalties for others
involved in the consensual sex
trade.
“Many people have to understand
that there is an issue and
criminalizing sex workers is not
the way to go,” Ethel Titus of Caribbean
American Pride said in a
written statement. “These steps we
are taking are crucial towards ensuring
that those who need it are
REUTERS/CARLO ALLEGRI
protected.”
Destination Tomorrow’s founder
executive director, Sean Coleman,
also reacted to the new plan, saying
it “will do what is long overdue,
create space to support and uplift
former and current sex workers
and survivors of human traffi cking.”
“While this initiative is one step
forward, it must include the voice
of those directly impacted,” Coleman
said. “At Destination Tomorrow,
our Sex Worker Immediate
Temporary Comprehensive Housing
(SWITCH) looks to develop
strategies to address the need for
safe, affordable housing that is
community centered. We look forward
to working with the Mayor
to build on this effort,” said Sean
Coleman, Founder and Executive
Director of Destination Tomorrow.
De Blasio discussed sex work
decriminalization in vague terms
at a press conference last September
in response to a question from
Rose Goldensohn of The City about
the death of Layleen Xtravaganza
Cubilette-Polano, a trans woman
who died after she was neglected
by guards at Rikers.
De Blasio said at the time that
his “broad answer” to the question
of whether sex workers should be
arrested “is no.” He seemed to indicate
that he was against comprehensive
decriminalization,
saying that people “who are organizing
and profi ting from that sex
work are the people who should be
arrested.”
Advocates have repeatedly argued
that sex traffi cking could
be better addressed if sex work is
decriminalized across the board,
which they believe would make
it easier for workers to speak up
without fear.
The Stop Violence in the Sex
Trades Act has collected dust since
it was fi rst introduced in 2019, but
advocates have made progress in
other areas since then. Most recently,
the State Legislature repealed
a loitering law known as a
ban on Walking While Trans because
of the way in which police
offi cers used the measure to harass
and discriminate against sex
workers.
Meanwhile, some state lawmakers,
such as Manhattan State
Senator Liz Krueger, have been advocating
for legislation that would
only focus on removing penalties
for sex workers — an approach
that has been soundly rejected by
sex work decriminalization advocates
for years. Government offi
cials from Sweden and France
lobbied Krueger and former Brooklyn
Assemblymember Tremaine
Wright in 2019 to discuss “how to
advance the Equality model at NY
state level.”
Earlier this year, reports indicated
that Krueger was introducing
legislation along these lines
dubbed The Sex Trade Survivors
Justice and Equality Act, but
it does not appear to have been
formally proposed in the Legislature.
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