Say NO to fully decriminalizing the DC sex trade
Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
Re: Bill 23–0318, the “Community Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2019”
Dear Council member:
We, the undersigned survivors of the sex trade, have collectively experienced hundreds of years of abuse, violence, objectification, and dehumanization in the sex trade. We know first-hand that prostitution is not a victimless crime and that most individuals involved in the sex trade are not there voluntarily and have experienced long term harm as a result of being bought and sold. We STRONGLY OPPOSE pending legislation to FULLY decriminalize the entire sex trade in DC, the Community Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2019.
This legislation decriminalizes the sex industry in DC, including sex buying, acts of pimping/procurement, and brothel owning. This measure will increase violence against women and children, regardless of their involvement in the sex trade, while greatly increasing instances of sex trafficking in the District.
Our voices MUST be heard in this discussion because we have lived the harm you want to make legal.
We support the decriminalization of people directly selling sex in prostitution. No one being prostituted in the sex trade should be arrested for prostitution regardless of whether trafficked or not. But Sex Buying/Patronizing, Pimping/Procurement, and Brothel Owning MUST remain illegal. That combination of laws is known as the Equality Model.
D.C.-based Courtney’s House is the only African American-led, survivor-led program serving male and female survivors ages 9–24 from Wards 1, 7 and 8. They report that virtually 100% of their survivors are found in houses or makeshift brothels and that 30% of their youth are trafficked by their families, sold out of their own homes. Given this devastating reality, we are horrified by the proposal to decriminalize informal brothels throughout the District. This, paired with the decriminalization of sex-buying, would surely fuel the trafficking and exploitation of countless other vulnerable groups.
We reject a society that leaves those exploited with hopelessness.
Policy should never be built on the backs of those enslaved, sending the message that it is acceptable to use their humanity for the pleasure of anyone with money because a privileged few decide to sell sex once they are adults and have options.
We stand with the DC survivor community in urging you to reject this harmful legislation. Our hope is that you will hear the voices of survivors in the District and beyond who have repeatedly said that prostitution is not empowering, it instead enables racial and gendered violence. Survivors across the nation are watching DC and counting on you.
Our Collective Voice Matters; Your Vote MUST BE NO.
Respectfully,
Rev. Dr. Marian Hatcher
Survivor Leader, SPACE International U.S.A.-Member
Ambassador-At-Large, United Nations
A. D.
AA Copeland
Abbey Brooks-Derzay
Franciscan Peacemakers and the National Survivor Network
Adriana Sanchez
Girls Educational and Mentoring Services
AL
RAHAB
Alexandra (Sandi) Pierce
Othayonih Research
Alice
CEO Sister Survivors, Advocate Neighborhood Legal Services, Author
Alicia A Cohen
SAFE, Survivors United, Survivor Alliance, National Survivor Network
Alisa Bernard
The Organization for Prostitution Survivors
Allison Franklin
Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
Alyssa Romero
Free Our Girls
AM
My Life My Choice
Amelia West
Sister Survivors and Neighborhood Legal Services
Amy Andrews
Survivors Consultation Network
Amy Engle
Streetlight USA
Amy Smith
Angela Pratt
Free Outreach
Annie Lobert
Hookers For Jesus
April Baker
As
Aubree Alles
She Counts
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Living in Freedom Together, INC
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Barbie Robinson
Rfw
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The Dreamcatcher Foundation/McDermott Haymarket Center
Brigette Robarge
Michigan Human Trafficking Health Advisory Board
Brook Bello
More Too Life
C.H.
Survivor Leader
C.M.
CAA
Survivors of the Sex Trade
Carissa Phelps
Runaway Girl, Inc.
Chasity Rainwater
Redeemed Ministries
Cheri Crider
Amirah, Inc.
Cherie Jimenez
EVA Center
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A_-21 out of Charlotte, NC
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Survivor Advocate
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DS
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Itvap. Indiana trafficking victim’s assistance program consultant/ lived experience speaker
Erik Gray
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HH
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Not
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PDC
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JM
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JS
Julia Anderson
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Lindsey Hass
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Noel Gomez
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Patricia Haven
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RachelAnn Baltazar
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SPACE International-USA
RG
1985
Robin Levasseur
NECAT
Robin Miller
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RT
Ruth Rondon
Michigan Human Trafficking Health Advisory Board
Samantha Hardy
Bayside Christian Church
Sara Smith
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Shamere McKenzie
Sun Gate Foundation
Shandra Woworuntu
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Shawnee Love HHD, PhD
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Sherry Dooley
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[Disclaimer: Initials are accepted for survivor safety]
