New Bill Introduced To Study Impact Of SESTA/FOSTA On Sex Workers
from the good-to-see dept
A few months back, we were pleasantly surprised to see Rep. Ro Khanna announce plans to introduce a bill that would study the impact of FOSTA on sex workers. Earlier this week, he came through, introducing the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act, which he's introducing with Rep. Barbara Lee in the House. On the Senate side, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden have introduced the companion bill. You can read the bill here. It would task Health & Human Services with studying the impact of FOSTA on sex workers, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health.
The bill is quite clear in laying out the concerns these elected officials have about the overall impact of FOSTA:
“There has been a host of anecdotal reporting from sex workers and community health organizations that following the enactment of SESTA/FOSTA, sex workers have faced greater threats of physical and sexual violence, as they are increasingly pushed off on-line platforms and onto the streets to seek clients. Despite these reports, no national study has been conducted to assess the impacts of SESTA/FOSTA on sex workers,” said Rep. Ro Khanna. “Sex workers have relied on such internet platforms to screen clients and negotiate boundaries for consensual, transactional sex services, including condom use and other harm reduction strategies. While SESTA/FOSTA was intended to curb online sex trafficking, by banning the “promotion of prostitution,” a host of internet platforms relied on by sex workers have shut down. My bill would mandate the first national study investigating how the shutdown of websites in connection with SESTA/FOSTA impact the health and safety of people who rely on consensual, transactional sex. I’m proud to partner with Rep. Lee, Senator Warren and the many advocates on this critical issue.”
“For far too long, SESTA/FOSTA has demonized and harmed sex workers,” said Rep. Lee. “Instead of preventing sex trafficking, SESTA/FOSTA made it harder for sex workers to access critical health and safety resources. We need the full picture – that’s why I’m proud to work with Rep. Khanna and Senators Warren and Wyden on this legislation to study the full effects of SESTA/FOSTA. It’s imperative we ensure that everyone has the full picture when making reproductive health decisions.”
“As lawmakers, we are responsible for examining unintended consequences of all legislation, and that includes any impact SESTA-FOSTA may have had on the ability of sex workers to protect themselves from physical or financial abuse,” said Senator Warren. “I’m glad to be working with Representatives Khanna and Lee, and Senator Wyden to do just that with the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act.”
“Last year I warned that forcing websites to take down any mention of sex work would remove agency from sex workers and put them at great risk of violence and abuse, all while making it harder to catch sex traffickers and aid victims of human trafficking. So far, initial reports from cities across the country show that violence against sex workers is rising dramatically and there’s little evidence that this law is helping victims. Representatives Khanna, Lee and Senator Warren are taking the common-sense position that HHS should study the impacts of SESTA-FOSTA on the most vulnerable members of society, so that Congress can make informed policy decisions, rather than chasing knee-jerk responses,” said Senator Wyden.
As some are noting, this study could be a first step to repealing FOSTA-SESTA (though the law is still being challenged in the courts as well).
The bill already has a bunch of co-sponsors -- though I'll note that there are no Republican cosponsors, so the bill at this point is not bipartisan. Also of note, one of the cosponsors (as far as I can tell, the only one where this is true), Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, was also a cosponsor of FOSTA. Still, Senator Warren did vote for SESTA in the Senate, so it's good to see her appear to recognize that may have been a mistake. It's still not clear if this bill will go anywhere, but just the fact that some in Congress are recognizing that FOSTA may have put more people in danger (even as it was pitched as a way of "protecting" victims) is at least a good start.
Filed Under: barbara lee, elizabeth warren, fosta, health, ro khanna, ron wyden, sesta, sex workers, study
