Slixa Gives Info on Potential Banking Freezes for Sex Workers

LOS ANGELES—Slixa, one of the few remaining online adult service directories, wants to raise awareness within the sex worker community by posting an insightful and informative blog post, "How To Keep Your Accounts From Getting Frozen in This Icy Time." "As if providers don't have enough to worry about in this time of FOSTA/SESTA, now there's one more threat to their livelihood: a potential banking freeze," the post begins. "We've spoken at length before about how there are no 2020 presidential candidates who support sex workers, but here's a new spin: there are now candidates who are not satisfied with simply making the sex industry illegal; they are punching service providers in the pocketbook.” The opinion piece goes into detail on what sex workers go through as they, over the years, have found first-hand that services such as Venmo, PayPal and GoFundMe will either not allow money exchange on their platforms, or cancel established accounts and fundraisers. While the exclusion from payment platforms isn’t necessarily current news, a new bill making its way through the ranks is news: H.R. 2219 (115th Congress): End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2018. The bill, introduced by Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-CA) and supported by a mix of Democrats and Republicans, would bring even more concern to the constitutional rights that have been viciously attacked for those who look to earn and have their deposits kept in a safe, government-protected environment. "The legislation would: * Require the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) reports to include a nation-by-nation analysis of whether each foreign  country has a mechanism to prevent financial transactions from people accused or suspected of human trafficking. * Add the Secretary of the Treasury to the list of top government officials on the President’s Interagency Task Force To Monitor and Combat Trafficking, to add more of a financial oversight element. * Direct the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence to include in its responsibilities “combating illicit financing relating to severe forms of trafficking in persons.” H.R. 2219 has already passed a House vote, and at this time, both Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio have introduced a bill with the same title in the Senate, and according to Warren's congressional office are together working to turn this bill into legislation. (A text of their proposed bill can be found at that link.) There are ways for workers to protect their assets, as the Slixa opinion piece lays out, giving vital information to those who look to be as informed on the current processes as possible. To read more articles from Slixa, click here. Those interested may learn more about Slixa at Slixa.com and Twitter.com/Slixa.