The Impact of SESTA-FOSTA on Sex Workers and Law Enforcement Interactions

• In Event: Sex Work and the Economics of Criminology

Abstract

Sex workers have reported that SESTA-FOSTA (the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act-Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) has pushed some members of their community back to street-based sex work. Drawing from strain theory and using national sex worker survey data (N = 440), the current study identifies de-platformed sex workers who returned to street-based work after SESTA-FOSTA in order to examine (1) to what extent they have interacted with law enforcement, (2) whether their experiences with law enforcement are negative, positive, or both, and (3) whether these experiences with law enforcement correlate with their race and gender identity. I posit that sex workers who are gender non-conforming and/or people of color are more likely to have negative law enforcement encounters after returning to street-based work, post-SESTA-FOSTA, including but not limited to arrests, difficulties reporting victimization, and harassment from police officers. The results of this study will inform our understanding of sex workers’ working and living conditions, post-SESTA-FOSTA, and provide policy recommendations to help sex workers live and work more safely.

Authors

• Jun Li, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Samantha Majic, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Melissa Hope Ditmore, Independent Researcher