Police abuse of sex workers in the United States

Sex worker abuse by police officers can occur in one or more ways. Police brutality refers to the intentional use of excessive force by a police officer, be it physical, verbal, or psychological. Police corruption is a form of police misconduct where an officer obtains financial benefits and/or career advancements in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest. Police misconduct refers to inappropriate actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Sex workers, particularly poor sex workers and those who had been manipulated, coerced, or forced into sex work, are at risk of being obliged or otherwise forced to provide free sexual services to police officers out of fear of being harmed or arrested.[1][2][3] Some sex workers have reported that they have encountered police officers who have physically assaulted them without evidence of a crime and without making an arrest.[4]

Studies have been conducted to examine the extent and frequency of abuse experienced by sex workers in the United States. Steven D. Levitt and Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh have noted that there has been difficulty in obtaining reliable data due to prostitution being largely illegal in the United States, rendering standard data sources uninformative.[1] A 2005 study of sex workers found that 16% have experienced police violence.[5] According to another study, a third of violence against sex workers is committed by police officers.[5]

Concerns have been raised about the health and rights of sex workers and the role police have in either improving or worsening them by utilizing prostitution law,[6] with some critics stating that in areas such as Washington, D.C., the laws effectively "legitimized unconstitutional police behavior that had long existed in the District."[7]

Police abuse can have long-lasting consequences. Sex workers who are forced to move to another area can end up in areas where they feel less safe, and there have been reports of disrupted medication routines and medical schedules due to arrests.[8] Organizations such as Human Rights Watch have stated that police abuse in countries such as the United States has led to sex workers becoming distrustful of officers, deterring them from reporting attacks from clients, and are one of the primary sources of violence.[9] Some sex workers have further reported that they see the legal system as being unhelpful, as they feel that the system does not provide them with access to resources, that it pressures them to accept guilty pleas even when innocent, and the process of arrest and trial is humiliating.[3]

  1. ^ a b Levitt, S.D.; Venkatesh, S.A. (January 18, 2008). An Empirical Analysis of Street-Level Prostitution (PDF) (Report). Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  2. ^ Tara Burns. People in Alaska's Sex Trade: Their Lived Experiences and Policy Recommendations (PDF) (Thesis).
  3. ^ a b Crabapple, Molly (January 6, 2015). "Special Prostitution Courts and the Myth of 'Rescuing' Sex Workers". Vice. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Thukral, J.; Ditmore, M.; et al. (2003). Revolving Door: An Analysis of Street Based Prostitution in New York City (PDF) (Report). Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Vitale, Alex S. The end of policing. Verso Books, 2021.
  6. ^ Fernandez, Fabian Luis (2016). "Hands Up: A Systematized Review Of Policing Sex Workers In The U.s." Yale University. Public Health Theses. 1085.
  7. ^ Saunders, Penelope; Kirby, Jennifer (2010). "Move Along: Community-based Research into the Policing of Sex Work in Washington, D.C.". Social Justice. 37 (1 (119)): 107–127. ISSN 1043-1578. JSTOR 41336938.
  8. ^ McLemore, Megan (December 2013). In Harm's Way: State Response to Sex Workers, Drug Users, and HIV in New Orleans (Human Rights Watch) (PDF) (Report). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  9. ^ Gerntholtz, Liesl (August 7, 2019). "Sex Work Should be Legal — If Only to Protect Women from Police". Human Rights Watch.