On May 5, Aaron Boonshoft, the wealthy Portland investor who sought to decriminalize sex work in Oregon, withdrew his initiative petition, ending his efforts to remove prostitution laws from state law this year. The petition, filed last month by an advocacy group called the Sex Worker Rights Campaign, seeks to repeal Oregon`s prostitution laws, classify sex workers as “employees” under Oregon law, and protect people who are or have been sex workers from discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. The two bills marked two different futures, but also laid out the many conflicting ideas about the future of sex work. As political ideas advance more and more in state houses and city councils, the dynamics of the debate are tense. Even the terminology is controversial: not all people who engage in sex for money call themselves sex workers, and not all sex workers call their work prostitution. Prostitution is illegal throughout the United States. In a handful of Nevada counties, where it is regulated by registered brothels, a movement toward greater decriminalization has emerged over the past decade. San Francisco in 2008 was one of the first serious test cases on whether prostitution should be decriminalized, but voters rejected the measure. More than a decade later, the District of Columbia City Council debated for more than 12 hours whether to do the same in the nation`s capital. The Council did not move forward with the proposal. Here are some other actions in recent years: “One end is sex trafficking and the other end is autonomy,” said Salas, a registered member of the Chiricahua Apache Nation.

When we talk about decriminalization, we are talking specifically about prostitution. “Runoff release doesn`t work,” Salas said. “To get to a place where there is safety for all, we must start with the complete decriminalization of prostitution.” Even Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, the sponsor of Maine`s partial decriminalization law, said she was focused on eliminating prostitution by cutting off the demand for sex. “I said, `Can you really tell me what adult behavior is and which people are forced into prostitution against their will? Can you break that down for me?” said Hardesty. “Because I can`t find it on my own, and I`m pretty smart: I`m really good at searching for data and decompressing data, and I can`t find it.” Two months before the public hearing in Portland, Oregon, Bell registered for a virtual public hearing to testify in support of the Maine partial decriminalization bill. Bell, a Massachusetts resident, describes herself as a survivor of prostitution and sex trafficking who is now the founder of an organization that helps survivors of the sex trade. Federal law prohibits sex for money, and there are a number of prostitution lawsuits that can affect future housing and employment prospects. Increasingly, public servants are thinking of a world in which sex work is decriminalized. Two states in particular, Oregon and Maine, provide insight into the different ways to do this. Mills, the governor of Maine, said in a letter explaining her decision to veto the partial decriminalization bill that she was concerned about the impact of being the first state to abolish all penalties for paying for sex.

She stated that prostitution in the state is not a criminal offense. “That`s the goal, to reduce prostitution to zero, frankly,” she said. “This legislation protects the human rights of survivors of buyers` wishes,” she said. “I have been working with prostitutes for over seven years and I see the harm, substance use disorders, complex PTSD and debris that prostitution has caused in the lives of the people we support and in mine. We have worked with more than 400 prostitutes and we see neither liberation nor freedom. We see violence and devastation. This year, a bill was introduced in the Oregon Legislature that would repeal the criminalization of prostitution and commercial sexual solicitation for the buyer and seller of sexual services. In Maine, a bill introduced this year proposed only partial decriminalization of prostitution — as opposed to full decriminalization, it would still have exposed people who pay for sex to legal consequences. Beloved said an important lesson for policymakers is to ask themselves what they want when prostitution is completely decriminalized. At the public hearing in Oregon, Shawna Peterson, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the National Organization for Women, called for full decriminalization.

She also said that no matter what model or bill a person believes in, the two things everyone agrees on is that people shouldn`t be raped, kidnapped, or “physically mentally or otherwise hurt.” She also said children should not be involved in any aspect of sex work. She noted that prostitution and sex work are still the subject of internal discussions within the national organization, which has always opposed it. “It`s complex, it`s chaotic, and it`s a conversation that pops up every day at all levels,” said Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, which supports the partial decriminalization of prostitution that punishes sex buyers. Editor`s note: This story contains discussions about sexual assault. “There`s a union person inside me,” Nasse said. “I fundamentally believe that all types of workers deserve rights and protection.” The people who are paid for sex are disproportionately cisgender women and trans women of color. (Girls are also disproportionately affected, but people under 18 who are paid for sex are legally considered victims of human trafficking. Human trafficking is the use of violence, fraud or coercion to obtain any type of commercial work or sexual act.) “We are committed to sex worker-led decriminalization efforts,” Boonshot said. “All Oregans should have access to health, safety and justice. And I believe that sex workers` rights are at the forefront of creating a more just, kinder, and compassionate world. The Oregon Sex Workers Human Rights Commission held a public hearing Thursday to explain why it believes decriminalization protects sex workers from violence, reduces health risks and helps protect BIPOC and transgender communities. Supporters also faced a legal challenge from a group of Oregon residents concerned about human trafficking, who said in a complaint to the Oregon Supreme Court that draft election language approved by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum would mislead Oregon voters by not highlighting how the measure affected pimps and people.

Who would buy sex, would protect. “A sex worker is someone who engages in sexually relevant work,” Tanger said, “usually for money. A victim or survivor of sex trafficking is someone who is forced by another person or organization to perform sexually relevant work. Rob Nosse, the principal sponsor of the Oregon Act, spoke at the public hearing in Portland. He said he believes that decriminalizing sex work and sex workers would lead to better public health and safety outcomes and encourage less interaction in the justice system for the things consenting adults do. He believes that for the law to be passed in a future legislature, organizers must raise awareness while being aware that they do not punish human trafficking for sexual purposes. “One of the most important things is safety,” said Anna, who identifies as a Portland-area sex worker. “Not having someone to protect themselves, being able to call the police if someone attacks them, not being able to take proper precautions, so many levels are not safe.” After Boonshoft filed Own-initiative Petition 51, the Secretary of State`s process provided interested parties with an opportunity to comment on how the measure would be presented on a ballot. Both supporters and opponents submitted comments advocating language that would appeal to voters for their arguments.

“I don`t think anyone has 100 percent perfected it. But events like this bring us closer and closer to a second sexual revolution where everyone`s rights are intact and everyone is safe,” she said. “The petitioners are participating in this process out of concern that IP 51 will further marginalize sex workers by granting special rights to sex buyers, pimps and brothels,” their court filing states. “I regained my confidence, my identity and my life through sex work,” Evans said. “Going from being targeted and trafficked at the age of 14 to now being raised and valued by the people I work with and my clients has been uplifting and has made my life worth living.” “I felt like I couldn`t go home, I had no choice,” said Kara Alexander, who was forced and trafficked into prostitution in her youth. “I was raped several times, I was attacked. The police didn`t do anything because I was a prostitute. But Gililland still wants people to understand that sex work can create an essential human connection for those who need it.

“I don`t have a personal trip to this room,” Nosse said. “I`m not a former sex worker, I didn`t even know anyone as a sex worker.” The Oregon bill did not come out of a committee of the Democratic-controlled legislature. And while the Democratic-led Maine legislature passed its bill from both houses, Gov. Janet Mills vetoed the measure in late June. “It leaves these opportunities for harm without addressing the vulnerabilities that exist primarily because it addresses it in a criminal justice setting, rather than addressing the structural issues that drive people into prostitution,” she said.