* This testimonial is being shared anonymously, by request.
“My mom wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for Narcan which was sourced with help from an OSWC board member. My mom isn’t a sex worker but when I reached out for help they were more than happy to assist and educate. I am forever grateful for them and the work they do.”
* This testimonial is being shared anonymously, by request.
*Hello, my name is S—-D——-
I am a resident of [redacted] and I have personal experience working legally in the sex industry. I am currently a PhD candidate at Harvard University and I hold advanced degrees in religious studies from Temple University and Syracuse University.
It is my firm belief that the full decriminalization of consensual adult sex work is the only way to protect the physical safety and human rights of all people who interact with and are affected by the sex industry in anyway – a group that includes not just sex workers, but truthfully, every citizen of the United States in some way or another.
As a survivor of childhood sexual trauma myself, I am intimately familiar with the long-standing consequences of assault. I’m also painfully aware that such abuse happens in a wide range of settings as the man who molested me was my science teacher and one of the best public school districts in suburban [redacted].
I believe the only way to seek justice for survivors of rape and sexual assault and to prevent such offenses in the future, we need a wholesale cultural reckoning in the areas of consent, gender, sexual orientation, and the fundamental human rights of children. Of course this is a lofty goal, but it is one I believe is worth fighting for.
In the meantime, punishing adults who engage in the consensual buying and selling of sexual services does nothing to save children from exploitation or end abuses of traffickers. We all know that demand for sexual services has never been assuaged in any time or place and likely never will be, so attempts to end demand will remain ineffective at best.
The criminalization of consensual adult sex work only serves to further push perpetrators of trafficking, violence and child exploitation underground while making the livelihood of countless others infinitely more dangerous. If you truly want to work toward the liberation of trafficking victims and the protection of innocent innocent children, you have no choice, but to support the only legislation of such aims – the full criminalization of consensual sex work.