Calida, 35, is a Chicago-based sex worker who has depended on
websites that host classified ads, such as Craigslist and Backpage.com,
to meet and screen clients. But the US government’s recent crackdown
on those platforms has abruptly eliminated many workers’ primary source
of income, forcing some to turn to the streets or to rely on abusive
pimps, greatly increasing the risk of violence.“Girls are going back to the streets and they are going to die in the
streets, and nobody cares,” said Calida, a mother of two, who said she
used to do street work and fears she will have to start again to make
ends meet. “Everybody is terrified.”
Congress recently passed legislation with bipartisan support that purports to combat online sex trafficking
by making websites criminally liable for users’ content. But some say
the Online Sex Trafficking Act (Fosta) and Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking
Act (Sesta) will have the opposite effect. Critics argue that the
legislation broadly censors
online speech, takes income away from people who engage in consensual
sex work, and helps traffickers get away with crimes by pushing the
industry underground.
Sex worker rights groups have long argued that initiatives targeting
child trafficking end up hurting the most marginalized workers by
broadly criminalizing the industry. That includes queer and transgender
people, the homeless and others who have been excluded from traditional
employment. Defenders of Backpage and Craigslist say those sites gave
workers control over their jobs and allowed people to detect and report
traffickers.Kristen DiAngelo, executive director of the Sex Workers Outreach
Project of Sacramento, said her phone had been ringing off the hook
since the seizure of Backpage: “The fear is astronomical.”One
woman told her she was forced to return to an abusive client due to the
lost income, she said. Others have resorted to taking on “managers” who
have leverage over the women and their income and could exploit them,
she added. “Very easily, you can lose control of your own life.”“This bill is creating an actual market for pimps,” Calida said,
adding: “People don’t know if they are going to be able to pay rent …
how they are going to afford food.”
Sex workers fear violence as US cracks down on online ads: ‘Girls will die’
QueerAnarchism 