A fear of legal trouble deters many sex workers from coming forward to report violence and other crimes that they suffer or witness in their trade. The Nevada Legislature has recently proposed a bill that if passed would help to safeguard sex workers against prosecution for substance, vagrancy, and selling-sex offenses. Presently there is a growing list of several states who either have or are considering such legislation. Assembly Bill 209 and bills like it are major steps in addressing the disproportionate levels of violence and harassment that sex workers experience. Additionally, Bill 209 would add to the support programs for sex workers that law enforcement is already legally mandated to provide. What’s particularly encouraging about this proposed bill is that it was created via consultation with scholars and sex work community members. The bill’s legislative sponsor is David Orentlicher, a law professor at UNLV, which just held a “Symposium on Policing Commercial Sex Work” — a great example of academics, activists, community members, and politicians coming together to brainstorm ways to improve society for its marginalized members. We’ll keep an eye out on Bill 209’s progress as it moves through the Nevada Legislature.
Major advances at the state level for sex workers’ rights and protections
