Less than a year after Melinda Katz told one LGBTQ political club that she backed the outright legalization of sex work and conveyed to another queer club that she would focus on prosecuting “human traffickers or those who force people into sex work,” the top prosecutor in Queens is singing a different tune now that she’s in office — and advocates are fed up.
DecrimNY, the coalition driving the movement to fully decriminalize sex work in New York, joined a chorus of advocates on the issue, including Queens lawmakers, queer political club leaders, and other political figures who are criticizing Katz after she vowed to “aggressively” target buyers of sex work services as part of her newly-unveiled Human Trafficking Bureau.
In an announcement previewing the office, Katz invoked transgender victims of trafficking, vowed to support sex workers, and claimed that the office is committed to combating sex and labor trafficking — a key component of the DecrimNY platform — but then came the fine print. The DA’s explicit plans to go after buyers is a route that advocates have long said could cut off the main source of revenue for sex workers and put them or others they know at risk of getting swept up in the criminal justice system.
Decriminalization backers have also stressed that the interconnected system that makes up the sex trade requires comprehensive reform in order to foster a truly safe environment for workers.
https://www.amny.com/politics/sex-work-advocates-blast-queens-das-plan-to-prosecute-buyers/
DecrimNY, the coalition driving the movement to fully decriminalize sex work in New York, joined a chorus of advocates on the issue, including Queens lawmakers, queer political club leaders, and other political figures who are criticizing Katz after she vowed to “aggressively” target buyers of sex work services as part of her newly-unveiled Human Trafficking Bureau.
In an announcement previewing the office, Katz invoked transgender victims of trafficking, vowed to support sex workers, and claimed that the office is committed to combating sex and labor trafficking — a key component of the DecrimNY platform — but then came the fine print. The DA’s explicit plans to go after buyers is a route that advocates have long said could cut off the main source of revenue for sex workers and put them or others they know at risk of getting swept up in the criminal justice system.
Decriminalization backers have also stressed that the interconnected system that makes up the sex trade requires comprehensive reform in order to foster a truly safe environment for workers.
https://www.amny.com/politics/sex-work-advocates-blast-queens-das-plan-to-prosecute-buyers/