Without an Internet Barrier, Transgender Sex Workers Feel Less Safe
New sex trafficking laws are forcing sex workers to go back to the streets to advertise and interact with clients, instead of vetting them first online. The Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act are meant to combat illegal sex trafficking by restricting websites from allowing sex work advertisements. But advocates say they don't distinguish between sex trafficking and consensual sex work and a reporter for Broadly, Aviva Stahl, argues that the safety of sex workers, especially transgender sex workers of color, is now jeopardized.
She spoke with transgender sex workers on the streets of New York and elsewhere. “It just makes logical sense that if trans people can’t negotiate safely with their clients online, they’re being pushed onto the street. They’re being arrested, and subject to violence,” Stahl told WNYC's Richard Hake.
The New York City Police Department said in Stahl's report that officers do not go out of their way to target transgender individuals.
