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Throughout my journey in the Social Justice and Human Rights program, I have learned to better understand the social justice issues regarding full decriminalization and legalization of the sex trade, and I have moved to take action against it. The two courses that prepared me for the battle ahead are JHR 550: Global Justice and JHR 501: Proseminar in Social Justice and Human Rights. In these classes, I learned the importance of fighting for the rights of others. These courses have taught me to look at social justice and human rights from a scholarly and lived experience perspective. When I am invited to speak on my expertise around social justice issues (domestically and internationally), I am a force to be reckoned with because of the knowledge and insights I have developed in these courses. Readings from authors like Kohn (2019) and Sen (2004) have really opened my mind to think outside the box around my advocacy against full decriminalization and legalization of the sex trade. Kohn (2019) discussion of the term "global justice" refers to normative theories about the origins and scope of commitments to address economic inequity, human rights violations, and poverty throughout developing nations (pp. 163).
Full decriminalization and legalization of the sex trade is a human rights violation and can produce more poverty within our most vulnerable populations, which in turn will lead to more human trafficking. Sen (2004) emphasis on the importance of human rights is tied to the importance of the freedoms that these rights are meant to protect. Human rights can include both the opportunity and process aspects of freedoms. To be a basis for human rights, the freedoms to be defended or advanced must meet some "threshold conditions” of special importance and social influenceability (pp. 319). Full decriminalization and legalization of the sex trade is a social justice issue that public servants and human rights advocates from all over the world should be opposing. For individuals in the sex trade to meet some type of threshold in order to qualify for additional support baffles me, and this inequality is what fuels my passion. I will be discussing further my stance regarding full decriminalization and legalization of the sex trade.
Human Rights
Human Rights
Human rights are a vital requirement for the development of a civilized society. The violation of any fundamental individual right reduces a person's humanity and puts vulnerable groups under constant threat of losing theirs. It is vital that our community understands the necessity of defending human rights in order for the world to build safe spaces for everyone.
Sen (2004) discusses that human rights are frequently dismissed as irrelevant, as is any view that holds that people should enjoy them unconditionally, solely in their quality as human beings, as opposed to having them contingent on factors like citizenship or legal entitlements (316). Those involved in the sex trade are human beings like the rest of us. They are someone’s daughter, sister, mother or cousin. They too have the right to have their human rights respected and honored. Throughout the course, JHR 501: Proseminar in Social Justice and Human Rights, I have learned to be an agent of change and to fight for everyone’s human rights, especially those who belong to marginalized communities.
Social Justice
Social Justice
Kohn (2019) stated that standpoint theory is a methodological approach that emphasizes the relevance of history, context, viewpoint, and power in contrast to mere abstraction. The primary purpose of standpoint theory is to insist on examining normative and sociopolitical issues from the perspectives of individuals who do not hold positions of power. (pp. 165-174). Through the course, JHR 550: Global Justice, I have learned the full meaning behind the term “standpoint theory.” When engaging with oppressed populations, I feel standpoint theory is an excellent approach. I believe that marginalized individuals understand social reality differently or perhaps even better than those in privileged social positions, because the socially privileged may not have experienced real-life problems and difficulties triggered by social exclusion, thus their opinions may be black and white, with little regard for context or room for productive thought.
People from marginalized backgrounds have the navigational ability to think beyond conventional wisdom, to recognize social reality for what it is, and to create methods to meet those realities head on. For example, I am assigned to a human trafficking task force and am the only actual survivor of human trafficking on my team. Because I come from a marginalized community and the other members on the board come from privileged social positions, when I shine light on circumstances and context, it broadens their perspective towards the population we are serving. Those who are in the sex trade have so much expertise and transferable skills that can be used for a greater purpose, just like my story. Many individuals subjected to the sex trade do not know their true worth and value.
Equality Model
Equality Model
According to the LIFT Website, “The Equality Model is a comprehensive approach to abolishing the sex trade by repealing laws that criminalize people in prostitution, providing exit programs for survivors, and reducing the demand for prostitution by penalizing and holding accountable buyers, exploiters, and traffickers.”
According to Equality Model Us, "The Equality Model (sometimes also called the Nordic Model or partial decriminalization) originated in Sweden in 1999, as a tool to combat commercial sexual exploitation while promoting gender equality. In the years that have followed, the Equality Model has been adopted by a host of countries that have prioritized human rights and gender justice, including Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Iceland, France, Israel and Norway. Today, there is a growing movement advocating for its adoption by the United States. The Equality Model was developed by listening to survivors of the sex trade, who are the ultimate authorities on their own experiences. At the heart of this model is their belief that treating prostituted or trafficked persons as victims of a crime, and not criminals themselves, is a critical first step in the fight for an exploitation-free world. But we can’t stop there. Advocates for the Equality Model believe that the provision of much-needed social services, and an embrace of policies that promote economic justice, are necessary in order to help those who seek to exit the sex trade stay out of the sex trade."
My argument is that this is the best approach for working toward the abolition of human trafficking. The criminal justice system should not punish anyone involved in the sex trade; rather, traffickers and buyers should face consequences for their actions. Providing exit resources for this vulnerable population will assist them in breaking the cycle of trauma.
Legalizing and Fully Decriminalization of the Sex Trade
Legalizing and Fully Decriminalization of the Sex Trade
In my opinion, fully decriminalizing and legalizing the sex trade will promote human trafficking in our communities and expose our most vulnerable population to additional violence and trauma. Those involved in the sex trade, even those who entered on their own free will, can eventually become victims of human trafficking, as they are prone to coming under the thumb of unscrupulous intermediaries. According to The New Yorkers for The Equality Model website, “Decriminalization of prostitution, which is the legal framework in New Zealand, is when the central government eliminates all penalties related to the sex trade. It purports to remove all regulation of sex establishments or data collecting of people in prostitution, for instance, but relegates the legalization (regulation) to local councils. There is no known decriminalization structure without some form of legalization at the local level.”
In the personal lived experience of my last arrest, the detectives assigned to my case did not use the equality model approach. As a result, I was arrested for my trafficker's drug offenses in his stead. My trafficker was the drug dealer pulling the strings, whereas I was his drug runner; this was a form of labor trafficking. On many occasions, the same trafficker forced me to provide sexual gratification in exchange for my freedom; this was unmistakably sex trafficking. Therefore, without any questions being asked about my circumstances as a trafficked woman or the prosecutors being educated on the red flag indicators of human trafficking, I was convicted and sentenced to five years in a correctional facility. Because my trafficker was not held accountable for his actions, I lived in constant fear that he would come after me, violently. My exploiter was not held accountable, whereas I was criminalized. Today, he is living in Las Vegas, running an escort service.
When buyers and traffickers are not held accountable for their actions, fear and injustice can further damage individuals involved in the sex trade. This is why I believe that the equality model is superior to the full decriminalization approach. This method will provide exit services for those in the sex trade while avoiding criminalizing them, whereas the actions of buyers and traffickers will be criminalized and held accountable. If my trafficker was held accountable and I had received exit resources instead of being criminalized, I would have taken a much safer path to where I am today.
Bien-Aimé (2017) states that decriminalization and legalization of the sex trade are unmitigated disasters in every country where laws promoting them have been enacted. Local authorities in the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia, where pimping, sex buying, and brothel-owning were legalized, struggle to contain the illegal sex trade and organized crime that thrives under this framework. As the co-founder of Redemption House of the Bay Area, which serves human trafficking survivors, we do not support full decriminalization and legalization of the sex trade. We embrace the Equality Model approach and we will keep knocking on doors and entering spaces where this topic MUST be discussed. As a survivor-led organization, our voices WILL BE HEARD.
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