Stand-In Against the Arrest of Sex Workers

US PROStitutes Collective
P.O. Box 14512, San Francisco, CA 94114
USPROS [at] allwomencount.net

The Stand-In Against the Arrest of Sex Workers took place February 4 in the area of a recent crackdown at Polk and Sutter Streets. Lots of press came and many people in the neighborhood were openly supportive.

We want to pursue the issue of sex workers’ safety, policing, the impact and cost of criminalization and community opposition to the arrests, with the Mayor, Supervisors and other city officials. We enclose below a letter with questions on these issues which we are sending. We ask you urgently to call and email your supervisor opposing the arrests and raising your particular concerns. You could use the letter below as a model or write your own (see addresses at end). We are also opposing the proposal to post the identity of clients on line.

City officials need to hear from us. Thanks and let’s stop this criminalization push.

Dear Supervisor,

There is much public concern over the recent police crackdowns and arrests for soliciting in the Polk Street area. Since January 1, 36 women and 15 men have been arrested. On Thursday, February 4, San Franciscans held a protest in the neighborhood on Polk and Sutter streets to call attention to the impact on sex workers’ safety. Many are asking why the police and mayor are prioritizing arresting people for consenting sex at a time when so many San Franciscans are in dire economic straits and the city is facing huge budget deficits.

The most comprehensive examination of prostitution law and policy in San Francisco in recent times was the 1996 Task Force. It condemned a law enforcement approach and recommended diverting money from criminalizing sex work “towards services and alternatives for needy constituencies”. More recent research from New York criticized law enforcement for creating “a cycle of arrests and ticketing that consumes police, court, and other government resources, but fails to create any appropriate long-term solutions.

We would like answers to the following questions:

What consideration was taken of the impact on sex workers of these arrests? 70% of sex workers are mothers, mostly single mothers. How many of the 36+ arrested women were mothers? What happened to their children when their mothers were taken away?

What efforts were made to avoid criminalizing vulnerable women? Criminal records institutionalize sex workers in prostitution by making it almost impossible to find another job.

Has there been any recent investigation into police illegality and violence against sex workers and the extent to which fear of arrest and abuse deters sex workers from coming forward to report violence? A 2008 University of California San Francisco study found that 14% of sex workers had been “threatened with arrest unless they would have sex with a police officer”.

Was any practical help or resources offered to sex workers during this campaign of arrests? Not mandated diversion schemes, which many women complain are judgmental and can lead to heavier penalties for failure to comply, but money and resources in women’s hands.

As you know, poverty and homelessness are endemic in San Francisco. Sex workers cite lack of affordable housing and childcare, low wages and debt as the key reasons that propelled them into prostitution and trap them there. 26.8% of Black people and 14% of Latinos are living in poverty. Welfare for a single mother with one child is $584 a month and goes no way to covering survival expenses.

Was racial profiling involved in the arrests? How many of those arrested were Black/of color and/or immigrant people?

How can the police justify spending time & resources on posting the identity of clients online when according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network 94% of rapists don’t see a day in jail and only 50% of reported rapes end in arrest?

How much money has the First Offender Prostitution Program (FOPP), run by the DA’s office, police and the SAGE project, got from these arrests? FOPP gets $1000 from each client anxious to avoid prosecution. That money is split between the three authorities providing a corrupting incentive for arrests and prosecutions to be increased. Meanwhile a city audit of FOPP found “no proven benefits, a $270,000 shortfall”, “ill-defined goals” and “no way to determine effectiveness”.

Why are the police prioritizing prostitution arrests when 41% of residents actively voted for decriminalization in a recent ballot?

What happened to the investigation into the over a “million dollars a month” abuse of police overtime?

SEND LETTER TO:
Mayor Gavin Newsom
1 Doctor Carlton B Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4604
gavin.newsom [at] sfgov.org

Clerk
Board of Supervisors
1 Doctor Carlton B Goodlett Place,
San Francisco, CA 94102-4604
board.of.supervisors [at] sfgov.org














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