Rights/Laws
- Prostitution Laws - California
- California Penal Code 647 (b)
- Prostitution is currently illegal in the state of California
- Criminalizes acts of prostitution, the solicitation (the act of receiving) prostitution and engaging in prostitution acts
- According to "ProCon.org" (2018) California has about 7,601 arrests, listing it number 1 in the top 10 prostitution arrests of the United States.
- What constitutes as prostitution?
- The act of sexual intercourse, touching buttocks, genitals, or female breasts with sexual undertones or intent for the compensation (including but not limited to financial compensation)
- Penalties - California Penal Code Sections 653.20 - 653.28
- The act and solicitation of prostitution is a misdemeanor (a “petty” crime may lead to an incarceration of fewer than six months)
- Punishments vary based on the location of the crime and how many times the crime was committed
- First offense - incarcerated up to six months and/or fined for up to $1000
- Second offense - forty-five days of jail time
- Third offense - ninety days of jail time
- If an individual is arrested within a thousand feet of a residential area and is operating a vehicle during the arrest → may face additional penalties
- Some individuals that engage in or solicit acts of prostitution face the requirement of having to register as a sex offender
- Solicitation
- Solicitation is the act of asking or suggesting the act of prostitution
- Can be done by the offering of compensation or other acts that are associated with the intent of prostitution
- Solicitation is the act of asking or suggesting the act of prostitution
- Defenses
- Law SB 1322 - minors are never charged for acts of prostitution
- Individuals may avoid charges if there is a certain amount of insufficient evidence, if the individuals lacked intent or if the individual was manipulated or tricked into an act of prostitution
- Senate bill no. 233 - allows sex workers to avoid charges in they tell authorities they are experiencing domestic abuse
- California Penal Code 647 (b)
- Prostitution Laws - New York
- New York defines prostitution as the act of offering to engage in/engaging in sexual acts in exchange for money. According to the "ProCon.org "(2018) New York had over 600 arrests in 2016, making it one of the top 10 states of total prostitution arrests in the United States.
- Penalties - New York Penal Code Article 230
- Labeled as a Class B misdemeanor (an individual may face a maximum of three months in prison, have to serve one-year probation, or face up to a $500 fine)
- This law only applies to those how to sell sexual favors, not those who buy sex
- Promoting prostitution is classified as a Class A misdemeanor (that individual may have to face up to one year in prison, or face up to a $1000 fine)
- Permitting prostitution is classified as a Class B misdemeanor (an individual may face a maximum of three months in prison, have to serve one-year probation, or face up to a $500 fine)
- Patronizing prostitution (buying sex) is a Class A misdemeanor (that individual may have to face up to one year in prison, or face up to a $1000 fine)
- Labeled as a Class B misdemeanor (an individual may face a maximum of three months in prison, have to serve one-year probation, or face up to a $500 fine)
Prostitution Laws - Texas
- Prostitution is illegal in Texas, it's penal codes and statues for prostitution is under offenses against public order and indecency. According to "ProCon.org" (2018) Texas had 4,506 prostitution arrests, topping at 2nd for the top 10 most arrests in the United States.
- Texas Penal Code 43.02
- Criminalizes acts of prostitution, the knowing act of offering or agreeing to pay for a the engaging of sexual conduct with that person or another for a fee, an exchange of money, goods, or other benefit services.
- Prostitution is currently illegal in the state of Texas
- Penalties are the same for both the act of promoting and patronizing prostitution
- Penalties
- 1st Offense: Up to 180 days in jail &/or up to a $2,000 fine. Considered a Class B misdemeanor.
- 2nd & 3rd Offense: Up to 1 year in jail &/or up to a $4,000 fine. Considered a Class A misdemeanor.
- 4+ Offenses: Between 180 days to 2 years in jail AND up to $10,000 fine. A state jail felony.
- Prostitution is illegal in Texas, it's penal codes and statues for prostitution is under offenses against public order and indecency. According to "ProCon.org" (2018) Washington D.C often has one of the most leaner penal codes for sex workers, it is NOT part of the top 10 states with the highest prostitution arrests.
- Washington DC Penal Code 22-2201
- Criminalizes acts of prostitution, defined as the sexual act/contact with another person in exchange for money, goods or services.
- Prostitution is currently illegal in the state of Washington D.C
- Penalties are the same for both the act of promoting and patronizing prostitution
- Penalties
- 1st Offense: Up to 90 days in jail &/or up to a $500 fine.
- 2nd Offense: Up to 180 days in jail &/or up to a $1,000 fine.
- 3+ Offenses: Up to 2 years in jail &/or up to $12,500 fine.
Proposed Laws & Solutions
Prostitution Diversion Programs (PDP's)Diversion programs are often associated with the criminal justice systems as alternatives to people facing arrest, conviction or detention from certain eligible offenses instead of their possible arrest or incarceration through some form of conditional support or services.
"The Yale School of Law and Public Health" (2019) have stated that diversion programs specialize in moving low-level prostitution offenses out of the criminal justice system and hopefully aim to provide services that intervene or reduce incarceration. PDP’s aim is to combine penal and therapeutic approaches to prostitution in it’s hope to facilitate easier access to social services that may help people avoid re-penalization and support their ability to make significant life changes. Pros:
Cons:
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Harm Reduction MovementHarm reduction refers to public-health based initiatives and principles that prioritize the safety, rights and dignity of people that are involved in criminalized activities such as sex work and injected drug use. Their aim is to reduce negative outcomes associated and stigma associated with these activities. It’s focus is to reduce harm that results from these choices.
Pros:
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No, it's not necessarily a first step. Decriminalization of sex work entails that no criminal laws be used against the sex workers, while Legalization means using criminal laws to control activities by determining the conditions under which they can happen legally. It's important to note that each have different policy outcomes. We still sustain that decriminalization is the ultimate goal to for public health and human rights.
Women and board working expenses as legal within prostitutes pay taxes, work card fees, "house" fees, and room in by servicing customers, while the brothel. They typically earn 40-50% of what they bring usually tip cleaning the remainder goes to the brothel owner" - UNLV Report on Sex Industry & Sex Workers in Nevada Critiques on Nevada Model
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Nevada ModelOnly state in the United States to legalize prostitution; legal brothels exist in 19 Nevada Counties
Nordic/Swedish ModelCriminalizing only the clients and managers of sex workers.
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Sources
Armstrong, K. (2019, October 19). California Prostitution Laws Explained - How To Beat a Charge. Retrieved from https://sddefenseattorneys.com/blog/california-prostitution-solicitation-laws/
Bodenner, C. (2016, February 29). The Swedish Model vs. the Nevada Model. Retrieved April, 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/02/i-chose-sex-work-because-im-good-at-it/471315/
California Prostitution Laws. (2019, December 2). Retrieved from https://statelaws.findlaw.com/california-law/california-prostitution-laws.html
Heineman, J., Macfarlane, R. T., & Brents, B. G. (2012). Sex Industry and Sex Workers in Nevada (Social Health of Nevada, pp. 1-26, Rep.). Las Vegas, NV: University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Retrieved from https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/social_health_nevada_reports/48/
New York Prostitution Laws. (2018, March 27). Retrieved from https://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-york-law/new-york-prostitution-laws.html
Overs, C. (2019, October 23). Sex work and the law – it's complicated. Retrieved April 2020, from https://theconversation.com/sex-work-and-the-law-its-complicated-81316
US Federal and State Prostitution Laws and Related Punishments - Prostitution - ProCon.org. (2020). Retrieved April 2020, from https://prostitution.procon.org/us-federal-and-state-prostitution-laws-and-related-punishments/
Verso Books. (2020, March 19). The Nordic Model makes sex workers LESS safe | Juno Mac & Molly Smith. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/wvjdbOcegjw
Yale School of Law & Public Health., Global Health Justice Partnership. (2018, September). Diversion from Justice: A Rights-Based Analysis of Local 'Prostitution Diversion Programs' and Their Impacts on People in the Sex Sector in the United States (S., Ed.) [Scholarly project]. Retrieved April 2020, from https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/center/ghjp/documents/diversion_from_justice_pdp_report_ghjp_2018rev.pdf