After years of efforts to decriminalize the sex trade in the U.S., survivors of sex trafficking and anti-exploitation advocates are calling on state legislatures to adopt a new approach that places them and their experiences first. Yasmin Vafa of Rights4girls, a gender-based advocacy organization in Washington D.C., said that decriminalization policies generally mean that all civil penalties for sex work would be removed regardless of involvement, and they do little to support survivors or hold those who exploit women accountable. Instead, Vafa and other advocates are urging states to adopt what they call a “survivor-centered” policy that embraces partial decriminalization, The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports. The model would protect sex workers from legal penalties, while penalizing those who sell or exploit sex workers, such as brothel keepers or pimps. “It protects the most vulnerable people while holding accountable their exploiters,” Vafa said. Survivor-centered legislation, enacted in Maine, is pending in New York and Massachusetts. Yafa said her organization has partnered with survivors and local coalitions in those states to help advance more empathetic policies.
Pennsylvania is a slightly different story. Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are not considering comprehensive legislation, but there have been attempts to address education and awareness around sex trafficking and exploitation. State Rep. Robert Leadbeter introduced legislation that would provide free sex trafficking and exploitation prevention education to first-year college students at public universities. Sens. Camera Bartolotta and Kristin Phillips-Hill have introduced a resolution that would recognize January as “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month” in Pennsylvania. “Human trafficking is a pervasive worldwide problem that impacts nearly every community across our nation, including communities in this Commonwealth. Perpetrators use force, fraud, or coercion to manipulate and establish control over individuals who are being exploited for labor and sex,” the lawmakers wrote. Bartolotta and Phillips-Hill said the resolution will raise “awareness of the issue and acknowledge those who are fighting to stop human trafficking.”