US Congress reintroduces historic legislation that centres the health and safety of sex workers

Written on 15 June 2022.

On 3 March, International Sex Workers Rights Day, Rep. Ro Khanna, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Barbara Lee and Sen. Ron Wyden made history by re-introducing the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act (SSWSA) with the support of 70 different organisations from anti-violence, public health, technology, and civil and human rights. The SSWSA makes a seemingly straightforward ask of the US government: to study and report on the health and safety consequences of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) on people who trade sex. But the outcomes will be much deeper; if passed, this bill will create a monumental shift in how we understand digital oversight and regulation, anti-trafficking efforts, and sex workers’ rights.

As co-chairs of the Sex Worker Subgroup of the Federal LGBTQPLHIV Criminal Justice Working Group (SWP), our member Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center and Reframe Health and Justice are thrilled to see this important re-introduction. These organisations work individually and collectively to support the health and safety of people who trade sex. In carrying out their missions to defend the human rights of sex workers, they also seek to end human trafficking while defending the rights of people disproportionately represented in the sex trades, inclusive of LGBQ+ and TGNC communities, BIPOC communities, and migrant communities. The SSWSA deepens their collective work by seeking to better understand how people in the sex trades use digital spaces to stay safe and the health and safety implications of losing online platforms since the enactment of SESTA/FOSTA. You can read the full press release here.