Law Protects Sex Workers from Condoms Used as Evidence

LOS ANGELES—Last Friday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a measure that helps protect sex workers from having condoms found on their person by police used against them in court. HuffPo reports that it is the first measure of its kind by any state, though activists "caution that the measure as written doesn’t go far enough." The bill, ironically enough, was co-sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which earlier this year failed to get its mandatory condoms for porn performers legislation, AB1576, through the legislature. Specifically, according to HuffPo, the new law "requires courts to explicitly state condoms are relevant to individual cases against sex workers before prosecutors can use them as evidence. The original bill, authored by California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), would have banned the use of condoms as evidence entirely, but it didn’t have the votes to pass in that form." Ammiano’s senior legislative assistant Wendy Hill, told the site, “Right now, there’s no process, and condoms are admitted into court even when they aren’t actual evidence. There are very few cases [against sex workers] in which an actual condom is listed as a valid piece of evidence.” Hill added, "There are cases where HIV health outreach workers would go out and distribute condoms, and then law enforcement will follow up right behind them as a means of ‘cleaning up the streets. [Police officers] would threaten them, arrest them or just scare the crap out of them.” Sex worker activist ,” Sienna Baskin, managing director of the Sex Worker Project at the Urban Justice Center, spoke to HuffPo, expressing her pleasure that Sacramento took the issue seriously enough to pass this law, but added,  "That said, I do think a more comprehensive bill would be more effective.” Last year, reported HuffPo, "San Francisco banned the practice of confiscating condoms to use as evidence against sex workers outright," but as mentioned, the legislature wasn't ready to extend those protections state-wide. Still, Baskin expressed her optimism that things are moving in the right direction, telling HuffPo, “It takes one state to take the first step. I’m excited to see a piece of legislation pass. There’s been a slow and steady building movement.”