Episode 23: The Downside of Criminalizing Sex Work

Do the laws we pass against prostitution really help vulnerable populations engaged in sex work? Our guest says these laws do not, and they particularly don’t protect the most vulnerable in society.

The narrative we have all been taught to believe is that prostitution is wrong and people shouldn’t willingly engage in it. But this moral stance isn’t based in the reality of our times. Today, women (and men) sell sex because they are trafficked, or because they need to survive, or because they consent to be sex workers. We would agree that at least two of the three reasons someone is involved in prostitution makes them vulnerable. Put yourself in their shoes. If the last 25 encounters you had with police resulted in your arrest, at the 26th encounter, how wiling are you to share that you had been raped, robbed, or trafficked by someone? Would you still believe police are there to protect you? What happens when you experience a violent crime, but fear the police? What are the psychological effects and the real life consequences? What happens when the rapists, felony abusers, and traffickers aren't taken off the streets because victims are too afraid to make a report? Expert Kristen Diangelo provides listeners with the eye-opening realties of sex workers and the law that will take effect in California ito protect them in January 2020.