DECRIM NOW WORLD NEWS DIGEST FOR JULY 2023

EU Parliament committee calls for criminalisation of prostitution clients

Brussels, Belgium

In a move highly criticised by the European Sex Workers Alliance, the European Parliament committee on women’s rights voted in favour of a report calling on member states to decriminalise women in prostitution, while criminalising their clients.

The report on the regulation of prostitution in the EU was adopted with 16 votes in favour, 10 against and three abstentions on Tuesday (27 June).

“Today’s vote was an important one for the committee, on an important subject, dividing feminists for far too long,” said rapporteur Maria Noichl (S&D) following the adoption.

“The report sheds light on the reasons why people enter prostitution and what we as a society need to do to prevent this,” she added.

Prior to the vote, the report had caused splits within the committee, with some MEPs from Greens and Renew rejecting the focus on prostitution as a form of gender-based violence and calling on recentring the text on sex workers instead, reflecting the legitimacy of sex work.

However, amendments tabled to make such changes were rejected during the vote.

The final vote was not welcomed by sex workers’ organisations, such as the European Sex Workers Alliance (ESWA), which had called on MEPs to reject the report altogether.

“This report was written without consultation with our community. It includes willfully misinterpreted research [and] warped definitions that we can scarcely believe are legal,” ESWA said, reacting to the vote.

The report will now be subject to a plenary vote in September.

Source euractiv.com

Sex workers march to Lamola’s office over decriminalisation bill

13 July 2023 

Pretoria, South Africa

The bill has been sent back to be revised after the state’s legal advisors flagged serious shortfalls

Over 100 sex workers and activists marched in Pretoria on Thursday to demand that government urgently finalise a bill to decriminalise sex work.

The group walked from Burgers Park, singing struggle songs and holding placards that read: “Be wise, decriminalize sex work”, “Sex workers have the right to be free from violence” and “My body is my business. Sex work pays my bills”.

They handed over a memorandum to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Officials from justice minister Ronald Lamola’s office signed the memorandum and promised to respond within a week.

In May 2023, the department revealed that Parliament’s draft bill to decriminalise sex work had been sent back to be revised after the state’s legal advisors flagged its shortcomings. The draft bill, which has gone through extensive public consultation, decriminalises sex work to ensure better protection for sex workers. However, it does not make provision for how changes in the legislation will impact existing regulations in various municipalities.

Source groundup.org.za

Arrest of the Long Island serial killer shines brighter light on need for immunity laws for sex workers

July 26, 2023

New York, USA

The recent arrest of Rex A. Heuermann in the Gilgo Beach murder investigation has residents expressing relief that a killer has finally been apprehended.

But many are asking why it took so long. One significant reason is the dysfunctional relationship law enforcement has with sex workers. The trajectory of this case illustrates the need for police to listen to sex workers. Ideally, the recent news that Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. is interviewing incarcerated sex workers who had contact with Heuermann signifies the start of an effort to improve law enforcement’s relationship with them.

When bodies first turned up on Gilgo Beach, the Suffolk County Police Department, under the leadership of now-disgraced former Police Chief James Burke, refused to grant sex workers immunity from prostitution charges if they came forward with information. Had law enforcement prioritized potential leads over arresting sex workers, this case might have been resolved years ago.

To add insult to injury, Dominick Varrone, then Suffolk’s chief of detectives, suggested at a news conference that the general public could remain at ease because the killer was only targeting a very specific type of individual. This claim, dismissive of the value of the lives already lost, and disrespectful to their suffering families, reflected a culture of dismissiveness of sex workers.

In contrast to Burke, current Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison took the case more seriously, reviving the investigation and working collaboratively with the victims’ families. His actions ultimately led to Heuermann’s arrest.

Sadly, the dysfunctional prejudices and deficient policies in Suffolk that left this alleged killer on the loose are apparent across the state.

Because many in law enforcement place little value on the lives of sex workers, they are rarely willing to work with them to resolve crimes, let alone grant them immunity to provide valuable information and testimony. This makes it unlikely sex workers will approach law enforcement about crimes they have observed, or have been subject to, leaving them and the community at large at greater risk.

While the Gilgo Beach case was a law enforcement failure, the actions that led to Heuermann’s arrest reflect enlightened law enforcement practices that provide hope for catching predators more quickly. Hopefully, Toulon’s information-gathering from sex workers can help lead to further charges against Heuermann or other killers.

A huge step in support of this enlightenment would be enacting state legislation, introduced in the State Senate and Assembly, to provide immunity for sex workers who come forward with evidence of a crime.

This legislation, modeled after a successful New York law that provides immunity for users of illegal substances who report a crime, would provide sex workers with protection from arrest for prostitution if they come forward to report crimes. Nine states have passed similar immunity laws in recent years, and several other states introduced legislation this year.

State lawmakers should enact the immunity bill when they return in January.

Source decriminalizesex.work

‘The law is not on our side’: Sex workers gather in Miami to call for decriminalization of sex work

31 july 2023

Miami, USA

Sex workers gather in downtown Miami to call for the decriminalization of prostitution across the state.

Demonstrators say changing the law would make a safer environment for sex workers.

Among those looking for the legalization of their jobs was Mistress Mei.

“Sex work is not inherently dangerous,” they said. “What is inherently dangerous is all the laws that criminalize sex work.”

Mei was pointing to the arrest earlier this month of a man suspected in the murders of multiple sex workers in Long Island, New York. Mei argues workers like them need more protection.

She joined others in setting candles in front of the Friendship Torch on Biscayne Boulevard Monday morning, in remembrance of sex workers who have lost their lives to violence.

“This isn’t anything new," she said. "There’s a history of serial killers targeting sex workers because they specifically know that society will throw us away, that the law is not on our side.”

Mei is part of Decrim 305, which calls for decriminalizing prostitution, noting the LGBTQ+ community is disproportionately hurt by sex violence.

Source nbcmiami.com