RI House Judiciary to Vote on Bill to Provide Immunity to Sex Workers

Ajello's bill was recently amended by House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi's staff, who removed language that also would have granted immunity to sex buyers and allowed police to incur civil liability.

“What I was interested in was allowing sex workers to report crimes they witness without fear of being charged,” Ajello said. “That's my goal. Not to decriminalize sex work. It's just about making it safe for people to report crimes.

House Speaker Larry Berman said the amended bill would not decriminalize prostitution, which was legal inside Rhode Island until 2009. A Washington-based anti-trafficking organization , DC, agreed.

“This immunity bill provides protection to those who are victims or witnesses of certain crimes – which is critical as these people face extreme levels of violence, but are reluctant to report for fear of arrest said Yasmin Vafa, executive director of Rights4Girls. “It is crucial to protect the most marginalized, while ensuring that sex buyers, brothel owners and other exploiters do not benefit from the same legal protections. »

But the original sponsor of the 2009 law that closed a loophole allowing indoor prostitution in Rhode Island said the new bill has “more loopholes than Swiss cheese.”

“We haven’t learned anything,” said Joanne Giannini, a former Providence state representative. “I am saddened to see that we are going backwards in the fight to end the sexual exploitation of women, children and young men. »

The Rhode Island Legislature had inadvertently decriminalized indoor prostitution in the 1980s, after a group of sex workers filed a federal lawsuit, complaining that Providence police were arresting the women, not the buyers males, and argued that the law making prostitution a crime was unfair to consenting adults.

So the General Assembly reduced the crime of loitering for the purposes of prostitution to a misdemeanor – and removed provisions prohibiting prostitution. In the 1990s, Rhode Island became known for its red light entertainment, particularly in Providence, where massage parlors operated openly near City Hall and the State House.

Giannini's 2009 law made domestic prostitution and sex trafficking a crime while also giving victims an “affirmative defense” if they are forced into prostitution, through threats, intimidation and abuse.

Ajello voted against the 2009 law.

“It seemed to me, and still seems to me, that what happens behind closed doors, with or without the offer of money or other valuables, is acceptable,” she said. “I don’t know if Rhode Island had any particular issues that needed to be addressed through legislation.”

As vice chair of a House committee that studied the decriminalization of prostitution, called the “Special Legislative Commission to Study Ensuring Racial Equity and Optimizing Health and Safety Laws affecting marginalized individuals,” Ajello said she has heard from sex workers that they are reluctant to report crimes such as sex trafficking or abuse by sex buyers because they are afraid of being arrested for prostitution.

Several members of the House committee belong to organizations that support the decriminalization of sex work. In 2022, Decriminalize Sex Work spent $82,764 in Rhode Island, and its affiliate, Campaign to Decriminalize Sex Work, spent $30,000 to “change some of the state's prostitution laws, paving the way to a more muscular lobbying effort in 2023.” Ajello's House committee released a report with its recommendations in early 2023 and, since then, has used those recommendations to push for legislation.

Ajello said his bill would protect sex workers who are victims of a crime, who witness a crime or who know someone else as a victim and who report or attempt to cooperate with law enforcement. the order. If the person decides not to cooperate for safety or health reasons, they cannot be charged. When asked what she thought of the amendments to water down H7165, she replied, “You'll have to ask the President.” »

Although there have been cases over the past 15 years where women working in prostitution have reported being victims of crimes, none have been charged. Ajello was unable to cite a case in which a sex worker was charged after reporting a crime.

Rhode Island Association of Police Chiefs Executive Director Sid Wordell said it would be more appropriate for police to offer immunity on a case-by-case basis, and the amended bill could still hamper the way which the police are investigating. But Ajello dismissed the chiefs' association's concerns, saying “police still want to have the authority to make these decisions.”

Donna M. Hughes, professor emeritus at the University of Rhode Island and founder of academic studies of human trafficking, questioned the purpose of the legislation.

“Has there ever been a case where someone came forward and said, 'I think I saw trafficking,' and was arrested? Hughes said. “So who are these witnesses that they think are so important to protect?”

The bill's language is “very confusing, and when you see confusing language, it opens the door for interpretations and loopholes,” Hughes said.

Attorney General Peter Neronha declined to take a position on the bill, but spokesman Brian Hodge said it “has long been clear that the Office's prosecutorial focus is squarely on perpetrators of human trafficking and clients, rather than sex workers themselves.

Amanda Milkovits can be contacted at [email protected]. Am here @AmandaMilkovits.