Navigating the Divide Between Sex Trafficking and Sex Work
Whore. Hooker. Call Girl. Prostitute.
There are many words used to describe people working in the sex for work, a business encompassing back page escorts, the infamous red-light districts, the adult entertainment industry, and cybersex like camgirls and OnlyFans. These terms elevate negative social stigma and even the word prostitute is being rejected as offensive, mainly used only in legal settings.
The term “sex work” was coined by Carol Leigh, a San Francisco-based activist and advocate, to destigmatize those working in the erotic service industry and encompass adults who receive money or goods in exchange for consensual sexual services or erotic performances.
To gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by individuals in this profession requires a deliberate commitment from an outsider to dismantle preconceived notions, often founded on Puritan beliefs, about those involved in sex work. The implementation of specific legislation affects the fundamental treatment of sex workers. The issue is not weighed in goodness or badness, righteous or immoral; it is about a community of people deserving of safety, consideration, and fair treatment, regardless if their work is taboo.
In a conversation with Megan Hobza, a contributor to the ESPLER report and long-time non-profit consultant for strategic partnerships and funding, described the contrast between her past experiences:
“I had a huge learning curve from going from this…My supervisor at the hospital was a radical, certainly, in his own way, but he was still part of the medical mainstream. And to shift from working with that side of things to working with Maxine’s lived experience organization, you know, they were really kind to take the time and talk me through all the intricacies of why decriminalization is important and why legalization is not the thing sex workers want.”
The Intersection of Human Trafficking and Sex Work
A report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Walk Free Foundation, and the Organization for Migration (IOM) showed that approximately 27.6 million people were in forced labor in 2021.
In 2003, Dorchen A Leidholt, an activist and leader in the movement against violence against women, working as an advocate since 1975, published a 17 page article in the Journal of Trauma Practice asserting prostitution as an institution of gender-based domination. She goes on to say the distinguishment of sex trafficking and prostitution is a strategy to continue the exploitation of women while governments profit and ultimately circumvents any efforts to stop human trafficking.
A form of human trafficking involves coercion into sexual acts or performance and because there’s an intersection of sex trafficking and sex work, the two are often merged. There is a fundamental distinction between the two: consent.
Back in 2018 Maxine Doogan, founder of lived experience agency, ESPLERP, Inc., went on air with Dr.Drew, and offered insight to a protest against the attempted comedian, Amy Schumer on International Whore’s Day. When asked about human trafficking at the “heart of these bills” and cracking down on child trafficking, Maxine responded that the solution lies within decriminalizing prostitution so that people can safely come forward when witnessing something wrong. She raises the issue that current laws are misunderstood and the enforcement of laws hinders witnesses from reporting in fear of being arrested.
Maxine’s point is supported by report published November 15, 2021 by the International Human Rights Clinic titled “Over-Policing Sex Trafficking: How U.S. Law Enforcement Should Reform Operations”.
The report included first-hand accounts and quotes from advocates, survivors, and law enforcement. A local officer was quoted as saying, “Regardless of their intent, anti-sex trafficking operations, like anti-sex work efforts, result in the arrest of many sex workers and buyers.” Adding to Maxine’s point in 2018, the report outlined three important reasons current law enforcement fails to protect victims:
Operations identify few or no traffickers and retraumatize victims in their tactics
Operations rarely lead to the prosecution of traffickers
Operations do not prevent trafficking as they do not prevent return to the trafficker
The law is not helping to end sex trafficking, and the implementation by law enforcement officers revictimized survivors.
