Fact Sheet

Sex Work & Harm Reduction

What is sex work?

 

Provision of sexual services or performances by one person (sex worker) for which a second person (client or observer) provides money or other markers of economic value.

 

These markers of economic value may include:

  • Money
  • Food
  • Shelter
  • Drugs
  • & more

Sex work is an umbrella term inclusive of:

  • Trade sex
  • Porn performance
  • Dancing
  • Phone
  • Webcam/Internet
  • Survival-based
  • Street-based
  • BDSM
  • Magazine
  • Film/video
  • Out calls/In calls
  • & more

Sex work can be licit or illicit

 

Sex work involves a worker, consumer and oftentimes, a manager.
In situations of illicit sex work, risk is involved for all three parties.

 

What is SESTA/FOSTA?

What is it?

  • Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act/Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act
  • Bipartisan bill passed by House and Senate March 2018, signed April 2018

How does it work?

  • Makes third party sites responsible for posting ads for sex workers — legally liable for trafficking
  • Shut down Craigslist personals, Backpage, and other sites

What’s the impact?

  • Makes it more difficult for sex workers to find and screen clients
  • Pushes people out into the street again — putting sex workers of color, of trans identity, and/or of undocumented status further at risk
  • Creates more competition and more risk for sex workers who are 100% street-based (and often survival-based)
  • Puts people more at risk of being trafficked

Why do people engage in sex work?

 

CHOICE

  • Julia chooses to work as a dominatrix because the work is profitable and she enjoys it. 
  • Julia chooses to do sex work.

CIRCUMSTANCE

  • Mark is marginally housed and engages in a relationship with Peter to have a place to sleep. 
  • Mark’s sex work is circumstantial. 

COERCION

  • Leah’s partner coerces her into trading sex with their supplier in exchange for drugs, even though she doesn’t want to. 
  • This is a human rights violation and not the same as consensual sex work. 

Sex work is work.

  • Everyone who engages in sex work has personal, unique reasons for doing so. 
  • Sex work is one of the few trades in which someone without any formal education can provide for themselves at an equal level to someone with an advanced degree. 
  • However, sex workers who hold marginalized identities are uniquely vulnerable to racism, transphobia, xenophobia, classism, and other forms of structural violence. 

Harm reduction interventions

    • Drop-in center
    • Community organizing & policy change
    • Intra-community skill sharing
    • Medical & health services
    • Safer drug use & overdose prevention materials
    • Street outreach
    • Safer sex materials & education
    • Anonymous testing services
    • Bad date sheet
    • Offer hand sanitizer, antiseptic wipes, mouthwash, makeup remover towelettes

Don’t assume!

    • Don’t try to “save” anyone from sex work

 

Resources