Who Does Decriminalization Benefit

The decriminalization of sex work is a crucial step toward ensuring the safety, dignity, and human rights of sex workers. Current laws that criminalize sex work often exacerbate the vulnerabilities and risks faced by sex workers, pushing us into unsafe environments and making us targets for violence and exploitation. As an erotic laborer since 2013, I have a personal and professional vested interest in the decriminalization of the sex trade. Unfortunately, due to the current cultural norm of vilifying and mishandling sex workers, I have been susceptible to online harassment, stalking, gender-based violence, and economic exploitation because of the way I make my living. Sex work has given me the ability to sustain myself during times when it was difficult to find employment and when I was navigating being a caretaker for a sick loved one during life-altering illnesses. Apart from my personal experience within the sex trade, decriminalization supports public health, empowers economic independence, reduces harm, supports sex workers in having access to and being active in changing labor laws and conditions that impact us, and grants us the human rights we deserve, creating more inclusive social equity. -Anonymous Sex Worker in Chicago

I am a clinical social worker and psychotherapist who works primarily with sex workers. Working with this population has been a joy and a privilege. Criminalization has had a massive impact on my clients. Beyond the obvious issue of internalized stigma manifesting in negative mental health consequences, sex workers face legal and material barriers to addressing sexual assault and domestic violence. Sex workers are often punished for reporting rape and IPV. When supporting clients through stalking and domestic violence cases, it has been incredibly difficult to safety plan due to clients not being believed by the legal system and being barred from obtaining orders of protection. I have seen clients arrested or fined for solicitation after having rape kits collected. Sex workers (especially sex workers of color and trans sex workers) are also highly vulnerable to police violence and abuse. I have witnessed clients’ partners and families using their work history as evidence against them in family court, resulting in clients losing custody of their children. I am unable to take in-depth clinical notes, as I have been subpoenaed due to the criminalization of sex work and had my clients’ private mental health information used against them in court proceedings. Decriminalization is absolutely necessary to protect the safety and security of sex workers in Illinois. - Sophia Etling (she/her), MA, LSW, Psychotherapist

The worst part for me has been the shame I feel when getting medical care. I don't know a single full service worker who has gone to the ER after a rape, even though almost every worker I know has been sexually assaulted at least once. Once, I was assaulted by a client, and I didn't get medical attention or report it because I was worried about being arrested or not being believed. Another time, I had to go to the ER because of a burst ovarian cyst. I knew what was happening and kept asking for an ultrasound to confirm it. The doctor at the ER noted that my chart labeled me as a "prostitute." I realized that the OB/GYN I had previously seen in the same hospital system must have recorded that, even though I had shared it in confidence to explain my medical history. The ER doctor repeatedly called me a prostitute in front of everyone in the room. None of the nurses wanted to work with me. No one believed me when I kept saying my cyst had burst and instead kept testing me for STIs. All the tests were negative, as I had only three sexual partners in the past year due to the nature of my sex work, but they didn't listen to that either. They injected me with antibiotics and refused to perform any of the tests I requested. Ultimately, I needed emergency surgery and lost one of my ovaries because they waited too long to address the issue. And all of this happened to me, a white, cisgender, conventionally attractive, able-bodied, educated woman. I can't imagine what the experience would have been like if I had been a woman of color, an immigrant, houseless—the list goes on. Decriminalization is necessary. Stigma and criminalization cost me an ovary, and it could have cost me my life. -Anonymous Sex Worker in Chicago