Washtenaw County's New Sex Work Policy

avatar for wiffle shwaffle
wiffle shwaffle
I don't know if this was shared here when it was announced. In case it wasn't, now you know.

"Over and over again, America has attempted to criminalize activity that runs counter to purported social mores. These prohibitionist policies have inevitably made things worse. Alcohol and drug prohibition, for example, created black markets for those substances, which significantly increased the violence and criminal activity associated with alcohol and drugs.

Lamentably, America has repeated these mistakes through the criminalization of sex work. Though sex work is legal—at least in some form—in nearly 100 countries across the globe, it generally remains criminalized in the United States. And the data is unambiguous. As with other prohibitionist policies, the criminalization of sex work actually increases the risk of sex work-adjacent harm. Forcing sex workers to operate in the shadows increases their susceptibility to physical assault, sexual assault, and trafficking. The threat of prosecution, moreover, makes sex workers and trafficking survivors less likely to report crimes.

Criminalization of sex work has also proved catastrophic to public health. When sex work is criminalized, sex workers lose bargaining power in the transaction, which makes it less likely that they can insist upon condom use. That, in turn, facilitates the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Indeed, a series of research papers published in The Lancet—the world’s leading independent general medical journal—concluded that decriminalization of sex work would have “the greatest effect,” worldwide, on reducing new HIV infections in the next decade.

For these reasons and others, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office will no longer file criminal charges that are based solely on the consensual exchange, between adults, of sex for money. The Prosecutor’s Office, however, will continue to vigorously pursue sex work-adjacent criminal charges, including charges involving violence, trafficking, or the victimization of children."

https://www.washtenaw.org/3301/Sex-Work-…

8 comments

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avatar for crosscheck
crosscheck
4 years ago
As George Carlin said "selling is legal, fucking is legal, why isn't selling fucking legal?"
avatar for wiffle shwaffle
wiffle shwaffle
4 years ago
Michigan. Same county that the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University are in.
avatar for jackslash
jackslash
4 years ago
Good for Washtenaw County. The rest of Michigan should follow suit.
avatar for wld4tatas
wld4tatas
4 years ago
Good for them ! Thanks for sharing this news. Hopefully it can serve as an example for other states.
avatar for whodey
whodey
4 years ago
Finally law enforcement that can differentiate between consensual paid sex between willing adults and still "vigorously pursue sex work-adjacent criminal charges, including charges involving violence, trafficking, or the victimization of children."

I think we can all agree that those acts should land people in jail but the only way normal p4p should involve handcuffs is if both parties want it to and they agree to a safe word first.
avatar for wiffle shwaffle
wiffle shwaffle
4 years ago
So it isn't actually law enforcement per se. It's the prosecutor who will be ignoring consensual sex cases brought to him. One of the articles I read, other than the one above, quoted him saying he will look the other way when it comes to those crossing his desk.

So in reality, it's just a really cool prosecutor. LE are still haters.
avatar for rickthelion
rickthelion
4 years ago
Relax scrub-ape. Did you drink way too much Jolt Cola as a child or something?

Look, I sometimes go all wildebeest on random hairless apes just to keep them guessing. So if I tells ya that ya gots ta relax, you should really relax. ROAR!!!
avatar for Cashman1234
Cashman1234
4 years ago
This is an intelligent approach to sex work. The criminalization of sex work is a mistake this country continues to make. I’m glad this county is beginning to understand the horrible issues coming from the criminalization of sex work.
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