Decriminalizing Prostitution Minimizes Violence and Exploitation.
Decriminalizing Prostitution. California recently became the second state to repeal its laws criminalizing loitering for the purposes of prostitution. Senate Bill 357, introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, which eliminates the crime, went into effect January 1st. The repeal was a hard won and important step toward a future where no one is arrested, evicted, fired, or loses custody of their children just for engaging in the oldest profession — or for even appearing to. It also opens the door for sex workers to help law enforcement combat real, violent crime and human trafficking. For decades, law enforcement has used loitering laws to justify the arrest of visibly queer, poor, Black, brown, and immigrant women, who are taking up space in public. Some of those arrested may have been soliciting, but many were not. Loitering laws empower police officers to detain and arrest people for being in certain areas, dressed a certain way, or for talking to other people [...]
