"Trafficking" now includes
consenting adult sexwork even if legal in the rest of the world except the U.S
(private consenting adults)
American Military Men upset with new anti prostitution law in UCMJ
From Dave's E-mail
Hi Dave, I have been reading your web site for a few years now, and I wanted to
thank you for the great info that you provided about TER! I was just about to
join them and because of your info you not only saved me money but also any
trouble I might run into with LE. Thanks man and keep up the great work you do!
On a more distressing note that I want to bring to your attention, as you can
tell from my address, I'm in the Army. I have been all over the world and I have
had to company of many fine women who work in the business. When one is in a
position as me, working the hours that I have and the rank that I have,
relationships must take a back burner. In this time we live in and the
operational tempo that me and my fellow service members have been under, the
hours we work, are usually a minimum of 12 hrs a day, 5 days a week, sometimes
longer and sometimes weekends as well. Like I said relationships are strained,
my marriage went south while I was deployed for 17 months straight, with only 2,
15 day leave periods in the entire 17 months!
Now the DOD in an attempt to creak down on human trafficking, (a very important
thing to do, when you are talking about the real scum that do this) has also
made using the service of a prostitute a crime according to military law, which
is called the Uniform Code of Military Justice, (UCMJ).
Not only is prostitute a crime, but now also is visiting one as well! EVEN in
legal brothels of Europe/ Asia or even in NV, USA!! This is just wrong! what I
do to have some type of contact with a women, that I'm not able to have on base
has nothing to do with my job, or how well I do it!!
When I'm state side, I use the services 1 or 2 times a month, I call a girl,
take here out to dinner, have a nice time, and then go back to her place or to
nice hotel for a few hours of fun. I wake the next day ready to return to work,
ready to return to what I consider a very important job, DEFENDING THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICIA!!!, and I'm damm proud to do this!!
Now the DOD/ GOVT, wants me take this away from me also. 15 years ago they
cracked down on drinking, so now that if a SR military person gets pulled over
even after 1 drink by the MP's, he/ she can kiss there ENTIRE career good bye!!
What more are they going to take away from us!?!, what do they want mindless
robots!?!
Just wanted to bring this to you attention, and to vent a little, thanks
VIC,
(PS you can use my pen name, but please do not use my email address if you want
to post this)
Dave says
Obviously I totally agree and think sexwork can be good for society and when its
legal (in private consenting adult) in all most all the world except the U.S.,
it should be none of the DOD's business what you do in a country were its legal!
Part of the problem also is the word "trafficking". The Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) passed was passed unanimously by the
House and Senate. President Bush signed it into law on January 10 2006. Under
this law, trafficking is defined as ALL commercial sex including private adult
consenting sexwork. If its forced its defined as "extreme trafficking". But
there are huge amount of Fed funds going to local LE as well as an extension of
the Mann Act definitions early which target in private consenting adults under
the definition of what sounds so bad "trafficking" when its private and legal
again in almost all the world with no big issues except in the U.S. The
religious right and feminists war on all sex unless in marriage continues to
destroy our rights to privacy and "love, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"
supposedly in the U.S. Bill of Rights which has been trampled by the religious
right/feminists fanatics that know what is best for us vs. our personal
freedoms.
Reminder: Decriminalize Private Adult Sexwork Coalition
http://www.sexwork.com/coalition/index.html Sharing information in the
fight for private sexwork rights since 1998
Key Message:
Private Consenting Adult Prostitution is legal with no major negative issues
in almost all the world except the U.S. The issues of children, coerced
trafficking, public nuisance street hookers, and pimps
HAVE NOTHING TO DO with Private Consenting Adult sexwork - GET IT!!!!
And educate the public to get upset with lawmakers for wasting money on
private consenting adult behavior! Get the law out of our bedrooms!
More:
Sadly More Internet Stings
Wasting Resources for Private Sexuality is spreading And the FEDS Doing
it.
Aussie
Amber
http://www.aussieamber.net
Sadly Aussie Amber and her husband who helps with appointment was busted big
time by the Feds. She is a periodic visitor to Phoenix (see her discussion
board post of 12/7/05) This time it was the Feds going after Private Consenting
Adult Sexwork, with no victims other than the morality of the extreme Christian
Right. She refused to have reviews on TER due to the dishonestly of that
board, but had many reviews on TBD.
Her husband is facing both state and federal charges in connection with an alleged arranged meeting between his wife and an undercover officer at a Salt Lake hotel on Dec. 28. She advertised as a traveling escort service complete with Web site that encouraged visitors to visit her "reviews" from past clients, including graphic descriptions of sexual activity.
An undercover officer contacted Quick and arranged a meeting with his wife. In the room, police reported the officer gave the wife the $350 "donation" as requested on her Web site. Documents state that the wife then asked the officer to take all his clothes off, and the officer complied. The woman then removed her clothes. Police reported the officer touched the woman on the hip for "two seconds," then other officers moved in for the arrest.
Amber is facing a prostitution charge in state court. Husband was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of persuading travel for prostitution. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison with a $250,000 fine. He also faces one count of aggravated exploitation of prostitution in state district court.
Interesting that the helpful husband
faces far more serious charges under Federal law than Amber since there is no
federal law against being a prostitute, but is the Man Act for transporting
which it seems the Feds are making a case includes arranging. Hope they
have a good attorney and will fight it.
Source:
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C635174762%2C00.html
Dave sent the
following e-mail to Aussie Amber:
“Aussie Amber” – In regards to your recent unfortunately arrest. Ideas for a
defense:
As long as its private consenting adult especially outcall prostitution in my
view juries should be told how the U.S. is almost the only country in the world
where private consenting adult sexwork is illegal.
You can of course also try to
convince a judge or jury that no sex was offered for money only your time, and
what else you did as consenting adults is not a crime as long as no money
directed related to sex.
The prostitution laws are based on morality which according to opinions in the
Lawrence vs Texas Supreme Court case is no basis for laws.
While my non lawyer view is to suggest a constitutional defense using the
Lawrence vs. Texas opinions, although with a different court make up it may be
too late since you first have to lose the case at the local level, lose appeals
and try to get the Supreme Court to hear. Sadly because of the huge legal costs,
cases usually get plea bargained instead of challenges that could help the
entire sexwork industry.
Many of us are fed up with mixing forced sex trafficking, or public nuisance
street hookers, which should be and is illegal around the world, vs. private
consenting adult sexwork, especially outcall, which is legal in virtually all
the world except the U.S. I believe most of the public does not want public
police resources being used for private morality crimes with no victims other
than the religious right moralist and feminist extremists.
My extensive write up from lawyers meeting on Lawrence vs Texas case (also
discusses prostitution issue besides swing clubs which was main audience
addresses) at
http://www.libchrist.com/swing/lawconference.html In middle of report
for example the arguments:
But the next part (of the Lawrence vs. Texas case) was a shocker - The Human
Rights decision. With the addition of O'Connor and (forget who) dissenting the
majority of the Court by a close 5-4 decision said it was a human rights issue
to be able to have individual liberty to seek enjoyment in what ever way someone
pleased that didn't hurt others or the State. Also used the right to privacy
argument which in the opinion the wording was taken directly from the Roe vs
Wade abortion rights case. And then the decision went even further to say that
laws based on MORALITY were unconstitutional !!!! That is a 180 degree shift
from many previous lower court decisions.
U.S. Supreme Court Justices say in Lawrence v. Texas: "Liberty protects the
person from unwarranted government intrusions into a dwelling or other private
places. In our tradition the State is not omnipresent in the home. And there are
other spheres of our lives and existence, outside the home, where the State
should not be a dominant presence. Freedom extends beyond spatial bounds.
Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought, belief,
expression, and certain intimate conduct." [Kennedy, writing for the majority,
02-102, June 2003] Or: "A law branding one class of persons as criminal solely
based on the State's moral disapproval of that class and the conduct associated
with that class runs contrary to the values of the Constitution and the Equal
Protection Clause, under any standard of review." [O'Connor, concurring in part,
02-102, June 2003]
Thomas Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence, wrote, "..that they are
endowed with certain inalienable rights. ... That among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness." I believe that in private consenting adult
sexuality falls under pursuit of happiness!
----
Brandy comments
You'd think that the supposedly progressive society here would be able to get
over their sexual phobias.
Dave replies:
I think overall society has - its the Republican controlled Congress and of
course Bush and his Dept of Justice that just passed the new laws, Bush signs
and the DOJ is stepping up enforcement in all areas of adult sexuality. And
local law enforcement aided by new funding from Washington and pushed by the
religious right fanatical groups that are the real problem.
I think most of society doesn't want to waste police and court resources on
private consenting adults, but they only think of street hookers and forced
trafficking and think all these laws are about that, not private sexwork that
other than the extremists care about.
I use as an example, co-founder with myself of Liberated Christians Bill, who
does go to a very traditional conservative Church in Phoenix and has no interest
in the sexwork issue. He told me after Sheriff Joe's busts the talk in the
Church was how it was a waste of money to go after private consenting adults.
That even in a traditional (but not radical) conservative Christian Church.
Brandy replies: I'm always going to believe that 'where there's life there's hope' and maybe someday the Republicans and their Bible thumping friends will focus more on how to improve themselves
Dave replies: And someday they need to
realize their is nothing biblically wrong with "common" prostitution in the
bible. Nor men having as many wives and concubines as they wish other than the
Elders of the Churches of Corinth and Timothy probably related to local
situations of not being comfortable with the Hebrew way of many wives and
concubines.
==============================================
Going after websites & More Consenting Adult sexwork
Sex Sting Snares Eight Engaged In
Online Prostitution
1/12/06
Stanislaus County Sheriff's detectives have arrested eight people in connection
with a growing number of local prostitutes soliciting online. Three women
and five men were arrested in the sting operation targeting prostitutes and
their customers who posted to an internet website, according to Stanislaus
County Sheriff's officials. Detective Ken Hedrick said he started the month-long
investigation after noticing several local women advertising for prostitution
online. "Prostitution is alive and thriving on the Internet right now,"
Hedrick said.
Of the five men arrested for soliciting online sex, two were already registered
as sex offenders for previous crimes. Hedrick said investigators will also
pursue charges against websites who host prostitution ads.
And Another
All in private, no underage, just private services which in my view benefits our
culture.
Detectives said the escort service accounted for nearly 7,000 liaisons a year.
Bachmann spent more than $40,000 annually advertising his business under the
names Centerfolds, The Butt Man, Florida's Finest and Unique Escorts in adult
magazines, the phone book, local newspapers and Web sites .Bachmann had 100-plus
phone numbers to serve his clients. And he did business under more than 40
fictitious names, according to the state Division of Corporations. "He was a
major player," an undercover vice sergeant said. "This is taking away a large
percentage of prostitution in south Palm Beach County." Bachmann, 41, and
his estranged wife, 42, were charged with operating a business of prostitution,
deriving support from prostitution and 11 counts of money laundering. They were
being held in the Palm Beach County Jail.
An anonymous letter to detectives sparked a three-year investigation by the Boca Raton police into the Bachmanns' alleged criminal enterprise. Through undercover operations, the seizure of David Bachmann's computers in 2004 and talks with current and former employees and a longtime customer, detectives said they learned of an intricate operation dating back to the early 1990s. (Look at the huge amount of police resources used vs. going after real criminals with real victims)
In March 2005, following a 2 1/2-year investigation, Boca Raton police shut down a North Dixie Highway brothel and seized $342,639 from the madam's bank accounts. Nahir Romero, whose Dreamescape bordello brought in $15,000 to $20,000 a month, was sentenced in September to a year in jail, followed by two years of house arrest and seven years of probation.
Source:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbcsouth/content/local_news/epaper/2006/01/13/m1a_brPIMP_0113.html
==============================================
More Web Busts in New
York - 1/15/06 New York Newsday report summary:
They operate from very modest offices in Manhattan, federal agents say, but have
tantalizing Web sites. The cyber brothels of New York City are raking in the
dough, according to investigators who say they are discovering more and more of
these highly lucrative businesses. "A classic blonde girl next door, Victoria is
one girl anyone can feel comfortable with," said one "New York Elites" Web site
entry. "Her near perfect figure and heart warming charm makes for a combination
that will ultimately melt your mind." (Heaven forbid citizens be allowed the
freedom to enjoy such an option).
"Now we are finding a lot of focus on the adult trade," Ficke said of the Internet rings. The businesses flourish for several reasons, authorities say. They have low overhead costs, and the Internet both confers virtual anonymity upon the customers and gives those who operate the sex businesses an easy way to do background checks on potential clients to try to avoid law enforcement sting operations.
Recent massive busts include Julie Moya
using Internet site Julinyc is serving 2-5 years in state prison for promoting
prostitution. Jason Itzler who ran NY Confidential an escort agency is in
Rikers Island prison for promoting prostitution whose case is on appeal
and New York Elites and Exotica 2000 latest big escort agency busts. "Using the
Internet, New York Elites displayed vital statistics and enticing information
about its escorts."
Investigators said the system worked like this: After calling the New York
Elites switchboard at 12 E. 32nd St., potential customers were given a
background check to weed out undercover cops. If they cleared, the customers
told the operators which girls they wanted, sometimes using number
identifications that they got from the Web site.
Unlike
human trafficking operations in which the women are coerced to do the sex work,
the New York Elites business was strictly consensual, said Ficke and other
investigators. That has prompted some to question why the government pursued the
case. "We are way behind the times trying to think
we can eradicate prostitution by spending all of this time and money and law
enforcement effort when it can be used in more constructive ways," Frankel said.
"There are other types of criminal activity that seem much more deserving of
this type of significant expenditure of resources," said Trochtchenkova's
attorney, Patricia Pileggi of Manhattan.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said in court records this was their first-ever
case under the law barring interstate prostitution that does not involve
trafficking, the mob or tax evasion. But they denied it was a case of selective
prosecution.
Full report at
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/crime/nyc-pros0115,0,4583145,print.story?coll=nyc-homepage-breaking2
==============================================
Here is the U.S. Code they are using note the
deception as usual, while its titled Coercion and enticement it applies to
consenting adult sexworkers:
TITLE 18 >
PART I >
CHAPTER 117 > § 2422
Federal Code § 2422. Coercion and enticement
Release date: 2005-08-03
(a) Whoever knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual to
travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of
the United States, to engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for
which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
(b) Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of interstate or foreign
commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the
United States knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual
who has not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in prostitution or any
sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or
attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than
5 years and not more than 30 years.
=============================================
Money Laundering Offence
From The New York Elites Agency Case:
U.S. CRACKS DOWN ON NEW YORK ESCORT SERVICE FOR INTERSTATE PROSTITUTION AND
LARGE-SCALE MONEY LAUNDERING
The Complaint further alleges that
TROCHTCHENKOVA and ABBASSY used bank accounts in the names of other companies to
conduct the financial business of New York Elites, including
receiving credit card payments and writing checks to their prostitute employees.
If convicted of the charges, TROCHTCHENKOVA, ABBASSY, and HAIRSTON face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and an $11million fine.
Source: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/Press%20Releases/April05/Trochtchenkova%20Complaint%20PR.pdf
That is ALL that Money Laundering
Felony charge needs to be based on! BE CAREFUL !
=============================================
Sex positive people need their own Stonewall like
gays.
Gays got so fed up with the repression they revolted and the infamous Stonewall
experience was the turning point to get legal changes made regarding attacks on
gays.
Since I was not that familiar with Stonewall I found
http://www.stonewallrevisited.com
which says: For gay, lesbian and bisexual activists, the word "Stonewall"
signifies quite possibly the most important, single landmark in the worldwide
struggle for gay rights. Most chroniclers of the homosexual rights movement
trace the beginnings of the movement's militant phase to 1969 and New York's
lower-Manhattan (largely gay-frequented) Stonewall Bar. There, for the first
time on record, homosexual patrons fought back when Stonewall was raided one hot
summer night by New York City policemen, who came hoping to arrest gay
individuals for engaging in then illegal homosexual acts. Eyewitnesses claim
that the homosexual patrons' counter-riot began when one burly, Stonewall patron
hurled a lidded, metal garbage can filled with empty liquor bottles through a
police car window. Ever since that night, Stonewall has been revered as an
enduring symbol of the gay militant spark lit that night, which has become a
gay/lesbian/bisexual militant conflagration setting America -- and the world --
aflame with gay rights issues and conflicts.
While I don't agree with the violence, it was the result of gays getting so fed
up with their status it was the starting point of getting laws and attitudes
changed. We have the Lawrence vs Texas Superme Court case that needs to have a
sexworker case argued with. We need public education on how much police and
Court resources are wasted enforcing private consenting adult sexuality, not
only with sexworkers but swingers and other sex positive people. The public
needs to be educated that Bush's religious right morality can not be a basis for
laws.
The U.S. is virtually the only country in the world where at least private
consenting adult outcall sexwork is illegal. We need to educate and demand
sexual freedoms the rest of the world enjoys. Canada, for close example that I
am very familiar with. This fight is NOT for public nuisance street hookers for
which their is a huge public interest to remain illegal but for private
consenting adult sexuality.
=============================================
Pres Bush signed HR 972 bill
1/9/06.
The excuse is all about forced trafficking and children. But in it written to
appy to ALL commercial sexwork:
Washington - President Bush has signed the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2005, H.R. 972, a bill whose frequent use of the term
"commercial sex act" to describe "any sex act on account of which anything of
value is given to or received by any person" is likely to cause trouble for the
adult industry.
"In today's world, too often human traffickers abuse the trust of children and
expose them to the worst of life at a young age," Bush said during the bill
signing ceremony Monday. "It takes a perverse form of evil to exploit and hurt
those vulnerable members of society. Human traffickers operate with greed and
without conscience, treating their victims as nothing more than goods and
commodities for sale to the highest bidder... Thousands of teenagers and young
girls are trafficked into the United States every year. They're held hostage.
They're forced to submit to unspeakable evil."
"We're attacking this problem aggressively," he continued. "Over the past four
years, the Department of Homeland Security has taken new measures to protect
children from sexual predators, as well as pornography and prostitution rings.
The Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with faith-based and
community organizations to form anti-trafficking coalitions in 17 major cities
across our country. The Department of Justice has more than tripled the number
of cases brought against these traffickers."
That is the spin. The reality of the contents is in prior post which defines ALL
commercial sex including consenting adults as trafficking!
Much more details about the law at
http://www.sexwork.com/coalition/Federallaw2005.html
==============================================
Patronizing prostitutes just got more costly
New rule means those convicted face dishonorable discharge, jail
January 24, 2006
Service members now may pay dearly for hiring a prostitute. Under a change in
the Manual for Courts-Martial, troops who patronize prostitutes can receive a
dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and up to a year in
jail. “Before now, there was no explicit prohibition on patronizing a
prostitute,” said Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military
Justice. “It’s clear they’re getting serious about this. I think it’s a sign of
changing values in our society, including military society. Once upon a time,
this kind of thing was rampant, like heavy drinking and smoking.”
The change took effect Nov. 13 but received renewed emphasis by the Pentagon
after President Bush signed a law Jan. 10 containing various provisions designed
to combat human trafficking, which is heavily tied to prostitution. But it
applies in all cases, even if a service member visits a legal brothel,
regardless of local domestic or foreign law, said Pentagon spokeswoman Air Force
Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke.
Officials said they are clamping down on prostitution because it is the main
fuel for the human trafficking industry — the illegal practice of procuring
human beings for unpaid work in physically abusive settings and locations and
forcing them to stay there. Most women involved in prostitution are doing so
against their will. Even by simply patronizing a strip club or bar that allows
prostitution, individuals are supporting the worldwide human trafficking
industry, officials said. The law signed by Bush requires the Defense Department
to incorporate anti-trafficking and protection measures in areas following armed
conflicts and during humanitarian emergencies, especially for women and
children.
Full article at
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1488490.php
==============================================
January 26, 2006 National Review
The New Abolitionist Movement - The Feminist View
Donna Hughes on progress fighting sex trafficking.
Highlights of huge article of her comments on the new sex-trafficking Act which
became law in 2006
Most of what people see as prostitution is actually trafficking because it
involves force, fraud, and coercion or underage girls. Pimps are vicious,
violent criminals who tightly and brutally control their victims to the point
they are enslaved. And most prostitution is pimp controlled. The independent
call-girl/hooker is mostly a myth. You can get a rough idea of how much sex
trafficking — foreign and domestic — is in your community by looking at the
advertisements for massage parlors and other fronts for prostitution. These
places are full of trafficking victims.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) passed was passed
unanimously by the House and Senate. President Bush signed it into law on
January 10. (Dave notes under this law, trafficking is defined as ALL commercial
sex including private adult consenting sexwork)
Title II — Combating Domestic Trafficking in Persons — is ground breaking. Title
II started out as the "End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act" (HR 2012-S 937). It
addresses the victimization of U.S. citizen women and girls by pimps in the U.S.
It is a funding bill that provides incentives to local and state agencies to
enforce existing laws against pimps and "johns," the men who purchase sex acts.
These perpetrators make up what is referred to as "the demand." 'Johns" create a
demand for victims of sex trafficking by seeking out and purchasing sex acts,
and pimps or domestic traffickers create a demand for victims by making enormous
illegal profits from coercing victims into performing sex acts. In most cities,
pimps make up less than one percent of all prostitution-related arrests. The low
arrest rate creates a favorable climate in which pimps recruit victims and
profit from their victimization. Consider the amount of money a pimp is making
if he controls just two or three girls and forces them through beatings to make
$500 to $800 a night — every night.
Title II provides funding for services for women and girls to assist them to get
out of prostitution. We know from research that 90 percent of women in
prostitution say they want out, but there are limited services available and
often little sympathy for victims trapped in the sex trade. For too long
prostitution has been a low priority or considered a victimless crime. At most,
it was viewed as a nuisance crime. Officials ignored the damage that pimps and
traffickers were doing to individual women and girls and to the whole community
by allowing the illegal sex industry to operate openly. Over the last decade an
entire culture has emerged that glamorizes the brutality of pimps. Rap musicians
and media glamorized pimping and clubs held Pimp and Ho parties, where young
couples dressed up and pretended to be pimps and prostitutes. Even the
mainstream media ran stories of the new independent women who made money by
selling sex.
At the signing ceremony earlier this month, President Bush specifically
mentioned "the demand" in his speech — and received a round of applause when he
condemned it. To have a law that addresses the demand for victims and have the
president address it is a fulfillment of the goals of my work.
How important has the president been in this fight?
President Bush has been the crucial factor. He has created a political climate
in which all of us, from local activists to high-ranking political appointees,
could do this work. Mainstream feminists like to say he's anti-woman, but by
supporting the abolitionist work against the global sex trade, he has done more
for women and girls than any one other president I can think of. And he seems to
have done it because it's the right thing to do, not because of pressure or
favoritism. The new law and policy will literally initiate change for millions
of women and girls around the world. Years from now, when the anti-Bush hysteria
has died away, I believe he will be recognized as a true advocate for women's
freedom and human rights.
The mainstream media has ignored this story. Most of the coverage has come from
the conservative press as a result of faith-based groups' involvement in
coalition efforts to support the new law and policy. I believe it is a result of
the liberal media dislike of the Bush administration and the lack of mainstream
feminist groups' acknowledgement of Bush's efforts to fight sex trafficking.
Most mainstream journalists don't search out the facts, and instead accept the
stereotypes and anti-Bush propaganda. When I speak favorably of what the Bush
administration has done to support the anti-trafficking movement, people are
often shocked because it isn't consistent with their view of President Bush or
the Bush administration. Hopefully, history will set the record straight.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is overseeing a nation-wide crackdown on
prostitution and child-pornography rings. Almost every day there's news of
another bust of a pimp or prostitution ring by federal agents. Federal
law-enforcement agents, including those in homeland security, are working
closely with state and local police on trafficking in an almost unprecedented
way. He has made prosecution of obscenity a priority, and I believe we are soon
going to see the connection between the production of pornography and
trafficking very soon.
Then there are the powerful faith based groups — the Salvation Army and the
Southern Baptists, in particular. Conservatives groups, such as Concerned Women
for America, are among the leaders.
I've spent about 17 years working on this issue — most of that time I was on the
losing side, as those who supported "sex worker" rights won almost every
political battle. The mainstream feminist groups wanted to allow women to make
the "choice" to be prostitutes and only oppose "forced prostitution." The
Clinton administration funded and supported this approach. I thought we had
lost. Those were the depressing years. During the late 1990s, almost all the
media stories were about how empowering prostitution was, how much money the
women made, how pimps were disappearing, how women were independent
businesswomen, and how women in India were forming unions and collectives to
fight for their rights as sex workers. The utopian vision that prostitution
could be turned into a form of legitimate work for women by empowering victims
and organizing unions ruled in all U.N. meetings, feminist conferences, and a
number of government offices. Now that was depressing!
Slowly that is changing. Media stories are increasingly describing prostitution
rings in which women and girls are beaten, raped, and enslaved. That may sound
more depressing, but to me it is much better because it's the truth. I used to
hear stories like that all the time from victims, but they never made it into
media stories or congressional testimonies. Now, the truth about
prostitution/sex trafficking is emerging and agencies are responding as never
before. I think more pimps and traffickers have been arrested in the last year
than in the whole previous decade.
I got involved in the anti-sex trafficking movement as an outgrowth of my
involvement in the anti-rape movement in the 1980s. To me it was obvious that
this was a form of violence against women and a women's-rights issue. It came as
a complete shock to me that some women, calling themselves feminists, were
pro-pornography and pro-prostitution, or called it a choice. It has been
tremendously gratifying to me to work with a broad based coalition on this
issue. Although we come from different political views, we base our work on
principles of dignity, freedom, and human rights. By getting down to basics,
we've formed a movement that is going to liberate thousands of women and girls
in the U.S. and millions of women abroad. That makes me feel good.
Full article at
http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/lopez200601260824.asp
Update on New Federal Anti Consenting Adult
sexwork law:
Repressive Commercial Sex Law Trafficking Victims Protection Act
Re-Authorization Bill H.R.972 which Bush signed
Comments Compiled by Prostitutes' Education Network
Human Rights Organizations Recently Protested Bush Administration's
Anti-Prostitution Policy
Those committed to truly progressive, rights based approaches to social issues
should question and examine the alliances forged around prostitution
prohibition. 200 human rights organizations organized to protest one of the most
insidious policies of the Bush Administration, which was also based on
abolitionist principles. The administration would deny social service funds for
HIV services to organizations which did not go along with a strict
anti-prostitution policy. Human rights groups expressed alarm at this agenda.
HR 972 Equates Voluntary Prostitution with Slavery
New provisions against voluntary commercial sex acts conflate concerns about
slavery and abuse of workers with a moral agenda against prostitution. This
ideology attempts to equate voluntary participation in the sex industry with
rape. Most people understand the difference, but ordinary sexual negativity in
our culture leads to confusion. Educated, frank discussions about sexual
practices are rare and the discourse is extremely unsophisticated.
Sensationalist stories and jargon about innocent women's vulnerability at the
hands of nasty men are a mainstay of prohibitionist campaigns from alcohol
temperance to antiporn campaigns.
Developing an Industry Around Sexual Surveillance
The greatest share of the funds goes to developing an industry around sexual
surveillance. Although Americans are sympathetic to the plight of prostitutes
who are victimized, and we support funding to provide housing and training for
those with few options, most object to funding an industry to develop police
surveillance, shaming programs and to monitor consensual sexual activities. This
is a highly problematic use of government funds and should certainly not should
be within the domain of federal law enforcement.
BBC Quits HIV-Prevention Campaign Over USAID
Policy Requiring Pledge Against Commercial Sex Work
The BBC World Service Trust decided to suspend an HIV-prevention campaign rather
than comply with a U.S. policy requiring that recipients of U.S. HIV/AIDS
service grants pledge to oppose commercial sex work.
The Bush administration in June 2005 notified U.S. organizations providing
HIV/AIDS-related services in other countries that they must sign a pledge
opposing commercial sex work and sex trafficking to be considered for federal
funding. The policy stems from two 2003 laws, including an amendment to
legislation (HR 1298) authorizing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief, that prohibit funds from going to any group or organization that does
not have a policy "explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking"
(Source London's Guardian 1/23/06)