Decrim NY #HousingNotHandcuffs

The bill upholds laws concerning trafficking, rape (including statutory rape), assault, battery, and sexual harassment. The bill amends statutes so that consenting adults who trade sex, collaborate w/ or support sex working peers, or patronize adult SWers are not criminalized

It also amends the law so that people can trade sex in spaces where legal businesses are permitted, while upholding that maintaining an exploitative workplace where coercion and trafficking takes place is a felony.

The bill also amends the gendered language of existing penal code to reflect the diverse gender identities of LGBTQ communities. Finally, the bill adds the option for SWers & trafficking survivors to apply for criminal record relief for crimes repealed under this bill.

Progressive voters support this kind of bill. In May, @DataProgress in collaboration with @DecrimNY, released a national poll that found Democratic voters support decriminalizing sex work by a 3-to-1 margin (56% support, 17% oppose, the remaining 27% are neutral or don’t know.)

"Sex work is work and should not be criminalized by the state. Our current policies only empower traffickers and others who benefit from keeping sex work in the shadows." @JuliaCarmel__

"We will finally make strides against trafficking by empowering sex workers to report violence against them. Sex work is work and everyone has an inherent right to a safe workplace." @jessicaramos

"Decriminalizing SW between consenting adults is harm reduction. SWers would have better access to legal assistance, health care, & rights as working people. Keeping sex work criminalized makes it harder to enforce laws against human trafficking & sex with minors" @DickGottfried

"The criminalization of SW has negatively terrorized a community of disproportionately minority, female, LGBTQIA+, and/or undocumented individuals...APIA immigrant & migrant women have been brutally targeted by law enforcement, as exemplified by the death of Yang Song" @yuhline

"Be it for survival or other reason, sex work is not going away and decriminalizing it is the only way to protect people’s agency, fight against trafficking and violence, and ensure the dignity and rights of all" @AMDanQuart

"Poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw...As a leader, I fight against everything that exploits, that dehumanizes, that demoralizes a human being to feel less than, which is why I believe in signing onto this legislation" @rontkim

"I first started selling sex to survive when I was 13 because I was young and homeless. As an adult, I worked several years as a private investigator. But as I was transitioning...I was fired from my job and had to go back to sex work again to pay rent" @VOCALNewYork's TS Candii

.@VOCALNewYork leader TS Candii continues: "On one hand, trans community faces discrimination and violence at every turn, on the other hand, the state criminalizes and makes unsafe one of our best means of survival."

"While transitioning, I was especially afraid of harassment & discrimination...because I knew that I was not “passing” as a cis person...SW allowed me to earn the income I needed to feel comfortable in my own body, at the pace I needed" @housingworks's Audrey Melendez

"I became homeless as a young person after I ran away from sexual violence in the foster system. When I was 15, I started trading sex in exchange for housing. After turning 18, I continued to trade sex when I was short on rent or needed to pay a bill" @thejessicaraven

.@thejessicaraven continued: "New York criminalizes adults for trading sex for resources, but falls short in addressing root causes. Instead, we subject sex workers, and the people who live and work with them, to state violence."

"As a formerly undocumented trans woman of color, I know what I need to be safe from violence and exploitation. This economy doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes, sex work is the best option for people like me" @BianeyDlaO of @MaketheRoadNY