Police abuse of sex workers in the United States

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Sex worker abuse by police officers can occur in one or more ways. Police brutality refers to the intentional use of excessive force by a police officer, be it physical, verbal, or psychological. Police corruption is a form of police misconduct where an officer obtains financial benefits and/or career advancements in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest. Police misconduct refers to inappropriate actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Sex workers, particularly poor sex workers and those who had been manipulated, coerced, or forced into sex work, are at risk of being obliged or otherwise forced to provide free sexual services to police officers out of fear of being harmed or arrested. [1] [2] [3] Some sex workers have reported that they have encountered police officers who have physically assaulted them without evidence of a crime and without making an arrest. [4]

Contents

Studies have been conducted to examine the extent and frequency of abuse experienced by sex workers in the United States. Steven D. Levitt and Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh have noted that there has been difficulty in obtaining reliable data due to prostitution being largely illegal in the United States, rendering standard data sources uninformative. [1] A 2005 study of sex workers found that 16% have experienced police violence. [5] According to another study, a third of violence against sex workers is committed by police officers. [5]

Concerns have been raised about the health and rights of sex workers and the role police have in either improving or worsening them by utilizing prostitution law, [6] with some critics stating that in areas such as Washington, D.C., the laws effectively "legitimized unconstitutional police behavior that had long existed in the District." [7]

Police abuse can have long-lasting consequences. Sex workers who are forced to move to another area can end up in areas where they feel less safe, and there have been reports of disrupted medication routines and medical schedules due to arrests. [8] Organizations such as Human Rights Watch have stated that police abuse in countries such as the United States has led to sex workers becoming distrustful of officers, deterring them from reporting attacks from clients, and are one of the primary sources of violence. [9] Some sex workers have further reported that they see the legal system as being unhelpful, as they feel that the system does not provide them with access to resources, that it pressures them to accept guilty pleas even when innocent, and the process of arrest and trial is humiliating. [3]

Street prostitution

Sex workers may engage in street prostitution for a multitude of reasons; one of the most intrinsic reasons is as a survival tool against poverty. Socialist feminists have cited "oppressive capitalistic processes for why women enter into street prostitution." [10] Certain communities are more vulnerable to prostitution. In the United States there are many street prostitutes who are black or belong to another ethnic group and/or who may be uneducated and impoverished due to inequity and lack of resources due to factors such as race and class. Radical feminists have argued that the marginalization of poor women of color has made it more likely for them to be led into prostitution. [10] Some critics have stated that police officers have dehumanized sex workers and Amnesty International has noted that in the past Los Angeles police officers would mark cases involving sex workers, especially black sex workers, as N.H.I. - "No Human Involved". [11] In New York, a suspected prostitute caught carrying a condom can be arrested by a police officer for soliciting sex. [12]

Scholar Jacquelyn Monroe has noted that prostitution laws are unevenly enforced and that sex workers engaging in street prostitution are more at risk of being arrested, while sex buyers are not. [10] [13] Research has also stated that there is a sex stigma named "whore-stigma" [14] attached to street prostitution that reinforces hierarchies and dehumanizes street prostitutes and that harassment is pervasive. [6] Sex workers have reported "experiencing verbal degradation, cursing, insults, and racial slurs from the police" and being harassed when engaging in non-criminal activities. [6] They have also reported that they are reluctant to report crimes against them such as rape, as they state that there is a risk of them being ignored or receiving punishment such as fines, incarceration, or deportation instead. [14] [11]

Society's social construct of sex workers historically; been given the role of social outcast someone to be ignored and dismissed. Because of this social construct it subconsciously legitimizes their "otherness" to society. With these perceptions society can stigmatize and dehumanize the prostitute. As stated earlier this is one of the contributing factors of "whore-stigma". [15]

Decriminalizing sex work

Some international public health and human rights organizations have pushed for the decriminalization of sex work, stating that it would allow sex workers to work in safe conditions while also improving access to legal and health systems. Proponents have also argued that it can contribute to reduced stigma, discrimination, and marginalization that comes with being a sex worker, as well as curbing the abuse experienced by police officers. [15] There are also concerns that continued criminalization makes it more difficult for sex workers to escape the industry, as multiple fines, imprisonments, and criminal records make it difficult to find legal employment and resources, leaving the worker with few other avenues to make money. [14] Organizations such as the Global Health Justice Partnership and Sex Workers Project Of the Urban Justice Center have performed research to understand how the criminalization of prostitution impacts the lives of sex workers. [16]

Concerns with decriminalization is that this would not immediately eliminate sex work stigma or the violence, substance use, or economic marginalizing that can characterize the lives of sex workers. Jennifer Toller Erauquin has noted that the government must make a concentrated effort to decriminalize sex work and to change policing practices when it comes to sex workers, as police have a responsibility to ensure public safety, including the safety of female sex workers. [15] Ine Vanwesenbeeck has noted that in order to decriminalize sex work the government and society have to acknowledge that sex work is work. She argues that this would empower sex workers by reducing the stigma and violence that they experience and that as other countries have introduced regimes of partial legislation, this can be done in countries such as the United States. [14]

Notable instances of violence

Daniel Holtzclaw

On June 18, 2014, Oklahoma City Officer Daniel Holtzclaw pulled over a 57-year-old woman and forced her to perform oral sex upon him. The woman, who had no prior records, filed a police report the following day and in the following investigation Holtzclaw was charged with 36 counts of sexual abuse offenses including rape in the first and second degrees, sexual battery, procuring lewd exhibition, stalking, and forcible oral sodomy. [17] [18] [19] [20] He was brought to trial and convicted on 18 out of the 36 counts and sentenced to 236 years in prison. During the trial prosecutors stated that Holtzclaw targeted women in poor communities who had drug or prostitution records, as he assumed that they would be unlikely to file a report. [21] [22]

Celeste Guap

In 2017 the Oakland City Council agreed to pay a settlement of nearly one million dollars to Celeste Guap, a former underaged prostitute. Guap stated that she had been exploited and sexually assaulted by approximately two dozen officers from the Oakland, Richmond, Livermore, and Contra Costa County departments, which included encounters prior to her reaching the legal age of consent. Guap has further expressed an unwillingness to testify due to fears for her own safety as she still resides in the Bay Area where the crimes were committed. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex worker</span> Person who works in the sex industry

A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex work</span> Offer of sexual services in exchange for money or other types of exchange

Sex work is "the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation". Sex work only refers to voluntary sexual transactions; thus, the term does not refer to human trafficking and other coerced or nonconsensual sexual transactions such as child prostitution. The transaction must take place between consenting adults of the legal age and mental capacity to consent and must take place without any methods of coercion, other than payment. The term emphasizes the labor and economic implications of this type of work. Furthermore, some prefer the use of the term because it grants more agency to the sellers of these services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Male prostitution</span> Act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment

Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male prostitutes have been far less studied than female prostitutes by researchers. Even so, male prostitution has an extensive history including regulation through homosexuality, conceptual developments on sexuality, and the HIV/AIDS, monkeypox, and COVID-19 epidemic impact. In the last century, male sex work has seen various advancements such as popularizing new sexual acts, methods of exchange, and carving out a spot in cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in the United States</span> Overview of the legality and practice of prostitution in the U.S.

Prostitution is illegal in the vast majority of the United States as a result of state laws rather than federal laws. It is, however, legal in some rural counties within the state of Nevada. Additionally, it is decriminalized to sell sex in the state of Maine, but illegal to buy sex. Prostitution nevertheless occurs elsewhere in the country.

Prostitution in Ireland is legal. However, since March 2017, it has been an offence to buy sex. Third party involvement is also illegal. Since the law that criminalises clients came into being, with the purpose of reducing the demand for prostitution, the number of prosecutions for the purchase of sex increased from 10 to 92 between 2018 and 2020. In a report from UCD's Sexual Exploitation Research Programme the development is called ”a promising start in interrupting the demand for prostitution.”

Prostitution in Turkey is legal and regulated. The secularization of Turkish society allowed prostitution to achieve legal status during the early 20th century. Known as "general houses" (genelevler) in the country, brothels must receive permits from the government to operate. In turn, the regulatory agencies issue identity cards to sex workers that give them rights to some free medical care and other social services. However, many local governments now have a policy of not issuing new registrations, and in some cities, such as Ankara and Bursa, brothels have been demolished by court order.

Prostitution in South Africa is illegal for both buying and selling sex, as well as related activities such as brothel keeping and pimping. However, it remains widespread. Law enforcement is poor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution</span> Engaging in sexual relations in exchange for payment

Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact with the customer. The requirement of physical contact also creates the risk of transferring infections. Prostitution is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or, colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. A person who works in this field is called a prostitute, and sometimes a sex worker, but the words hooker and whore are also sometimes used to describe those who work as prostitutes.

Current laws passed by the Parliament of Canada in 2014 make it illegal to purchase or advertise sexual services and illegal to live on the material benefits from sex work. The law officially enacted criminal penalties for "Purchasing sexual services and communicating in any place for that purpose."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex workers' rights</span> Human, health, and labor rights of sex workers and their clients

Sex workers' rights encompass a variety of aims being pursued globally by individuals and organizations that specifically involve the human, health, and labor rights of sex workers and their clients. The goals of these movements are diverse, but generally aim to legalize or decriminalize sex work, as well as to destigmatize it, regulate it and ensure fair treatment before legal and cultural forces on a local and international level for all persons in the sex industry.

Prostitution in Zimbabwe and related acts, including solicitation, procuring, and keeping a brothel, are illegal but thriving. Zimbabwe's dire economic situation has forced many women into sex work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Europe</span>

The legality of prostitution in Europe varies by country.

The World Charter for Prostitutes' Rights is a declaration of rights adopted in 1985 to protect sex workers' rights worldwide. It was adopted on 15 February 1985 at the first World Whores Congress in Amsterdam by the newly formed International Committee for Prostitutes' Rights (ICPR). The Charter established a human rights-based approach to prostitution, demanding that sex workers be guaranteed freedom of speech, travel, immigration, work, marriage, motherhood, health, and housing, amongst other things. This approach has subsequently been further elaborated by the sex workers' rights movement.

Violence against prostitutes occurs worldwide, both through physical and psychological forms. The victims are predominantly women. In extreme cases, violent acts have led to their murder while in their workplace.

Melissa Farley is an American clinical psychologist, researcher and radical feminist anti-pornography and anti-prostitution activist. Farley is best known for her studies of the effects of prostitution, trafficking and sexual violence. She is the founder and director of the San Francisco-based organization, Prostitution Research and Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution law</span> Legality of prostitution

Prostitution laws varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions within a country. At one extreme, prostitution or sex work is legal in some places and regarded as a profession, while at the other extreme, it is considered a severe crime punishable by death in some other places. A variety of different legal models exist around the world, including total bans, bans that only target the customer, and laws permitting prostitution but prohibiting organized groups, an example being brothels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decriminalization of sex work</span> Removal of criminal penalties for sex work

The decriminalization of sex work is the removal of criminal penalties for sex work. Sex work, the consensual provision of sexual services for money or goods, is criminalized in most countries. Decriminalization is distinct from legalization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in the Americas</span> Overview of the legality and practice of prostitution in the Americas

Legality of prostitution in the Americas varies by country. Most countries only legalized prostitution, with the act of exchanging money for sexual services legal. The level of enforcement varies by country. One country, the United States, is unique as legality of prostitution is not the responsibility of the federal government, but rather state, territorial, and federal district's responsibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nordic model approach to prostitution</span> Approach to prostitution law first instituted in Sweden in 1999

The Nordic Criminal Model approach to sex work, also marketed as the end demand, equality model, neo-abolitionism, Nordic and Swedish model, is an approach to sex work that criminalises clients, third parties and many ways sex workers operate. This approach to criminalising sex work was developed in Sweden in 1999 on the debated radical feminist position that all sex work is sexual servitude and no person can consent to engage in commercial sexual services. The main objective of the model is to abolish the sex industry by punishing the purchase of sexual services. The model was also originally developed to make working in the sex industry more difficult, as Ann Martin said when asked about their role in developing the model - "I think of course the law has negative consequences for women in prostitution but that's also some of the effect that we want to achieve with the law... It shouldn't be as easy as it was before to go out and sell sex."

There are about 220,000 women currently incarcerated in America. Over 30% of these women are convicted prostitutes. Much of the research on the sex industry in prisons focuses on the experiences of women because the number of jailed female sex workers greatly outnumbers men. Prominent issues that the criminal justice system and women who are incarcerated on prostitution charges currently face include the sexually transmitted infections and diseases epidemic, the sex-work-prison cycle, and the prison-to-sex-trafficking pipeline. Intervention and diversion programs, both within prisons and in traditional and specialty courts aim to address these issues, decrease recidivism, and provide these women with resources to assist them in exiting the sex trade. There are a variety of community-based organizations which seek to help resolve these concerns.

References

  1. 1 2 Levitt, S.D.; Venkatesh, S.A. (January 18, 2008). An Empirical Analysis of Street-Level Prostitution (PDF) (Report). Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  2. ↑ Tara Burns. People in Alaska's Sex Trade: Their Lived Experiences and Policy Recommendations (PDF) (Thesis).
  3. 1 2 Crabapple, Molly (January 6, 2015). "Special Prostitution Courts and the Myth of 'Rescuing' Sex Workers". Vice . Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  4. ↑ Thukral, J.; Ditmore, M.; et al. (2003). Revolving Door: An Analysis of Street Based Prostitution in New York City (PDF) (Report). Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Vitale, Alex S. The end of policing. Verso Books, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Fernandez, Fabian Luis (2016). "Hands Up: A Systematized Review Of Policing Sex Workers In The U.s." Yale University. Public Health Theses. 1085.
  7. ↑ Saunders, Penelope; Kirby, Jennifer (2010). "Move Along: Community-based Research into the Policing of Sex Work in Washington, D.C.". Social Justice. 37 (1 (119)): 107–127. ISSN   1043-1578. JSTOR   41336938.
  8. ↑ McLemore, Megan (December 2013). In Harm's Way: State Response to Sex Workers, Drug Users, and HIV in New Orleans (Human Rights Watch) (PDF) (Report). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  9. ↑ Gerntholtz, Liesl (August 7, 2019). "Sex Work Should be Legal — If Only to Protect Women from Police". Human Rights Watch.
  10. 1 2 3 Monroe, Jacquelyn (27 September 2005). "Women in Street Prostitution: The Result of Poverty and the Brunt of Inequity". Journal of Poverty. 9 (3): 69–88. doi:10.1300/J134v09n03_04. S2CID   143535787.
  11. 1 2 Sankofa, Jasmine (December 12, 2016). "From Margin to Center: Sex Work Decriminalization is a Racial Justice Issue". Amnesty International.
  12. ↑ Marc, Juno (2018). The Laws That Sex Workers Really Want. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 218. ISBN   978-1-138-05528-5.
  13. ↑ Hayes-Smith, R.; Shekarkhar, Z. (February 9, 2010). "Why is prostitution criminalized? An alternative viewpoint on the construction of sex work". Contemporary Justice Review. 13: 43–45. doi:10.1080/10282580903549201. S2CID   146238757.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Vanwesenbeeck, Ine (June 5, 2017). "Sex Work Criminalization Is Barking Up the Wrong Tree". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 46 (6): 1631–1640. doi:10.1007/s10508-017-1008-3. ISSN   1573-2800. PMC   5529480 . PMID   28585156.
  15. 1 2 3 Erauquin, Jennifer Toller (January 16, 2019). "Sex Work and Policing Practice in the United States". American Journal of Public Health. 109 (2): 186–187. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304885. PMC   6336053 . PMID   30649943.
  16. ↑ Forestiere, Annamarie (October 1, 2019). "To Protect Women, Legalize Prostitution". Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review . Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  17. ↑ True Crime Review (December 20, 2016). "Interrogation video of former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw (unredacted)". YouTube . Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  18. ↑ Sedensky, Matt (November 1, 2015). "AP: Hundreds of officers lose licenses over sex misconduct". Associated Press. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  19. ↑ Kaplan, Sarah (December 11, 2015). "A serial rapist cop's 'mistake': Assaulting the grandmother who finally reported him". Washington Post.
  20. ↑ Santos, Patty (November 13, 2015). "Woman testifies after showing up high to Daniel Holtzclaw trial high". KOCO-TV . Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  21. ↑ Eliott C. McLaughlin; Sara Sidner; Michael Martinez (January 22, 2016). "OKC cop Daniel Holtzclaw sentenced to 263 years". CNN . Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  22. 1 2 Blanks, Jonathan (November 1, 2017). "The Police Who Prey on Victims". Democracy - A Journal of Ideas. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
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