Vox.com Takes Deep Dive Into Devastating Fallout From FOSTA/SESTA

The online political site Vox.com on Tuesday published a lengthy exploration of the supposed anti-sex trafficking law FOSTA/SESTA, which passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. In fact, as AVN.com has noted, every current presidential candidate who served in Congress during 2018 voted in favor of the bill. But as the Vox deep dive finds, the law has had devastating effects on sex workers, especially on perhaps the most vulnerable section of that already vulnerable group: trans women of color. The Vox critique, which may be read in full at this link, also takes aim at the 2020 candidates for remaining “silent” on “the LGBTQ rights issue 2020 Democrats still aren’t talking about.” The law holds online sites responsible for sex-related content posted by third parties, such as classified ads for sex-related services, if that content is deemed to promote “sex trafficking.” But the definition of “sex trafficking” under the law is so broad that it appears to cover fully consensual sexual services as well. “Two days after the law passed,” according to the Vox report, “Craigslist shut down its personals section, which had been used by some sex workers for advertising. The escort service Cityvibe shut down. Reddit closed down several subreddits devoted to sex work.” But Vox writer Anna North cites a study from February of 2019 at Baylor University, which found that the overall rate of homicide against women was reduced by 10 percent to 17 percent, simply due to the ability of sex workers to advertise on Craigslist—an ability that was quickly yanked away once FOSTA/SESTA was signed into law by Donald Trump in April 2018. “These results suggest that there may be adverse safety consequences that result from the 2018 passage of the 'Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act' (FOSTA), which led to the closure of almost all websites that US sex workers had previously used for online solicitation and safety screening,” the Baylor study’s authors wrote. By stripping sex workers of their ability to run their businesses online, from the safety of their own homes and personal spaces, FOSTA/SESTA forced them back onto the streets, where they are at greatly increased risk of violence, and lose the ability to adequately screen their clientele. Trans women of color have been especially hard hit, Vox reported. Of 41 sex workers murdered in 2015, 17 were black and 12 were trans women, Vox wrote, citing Amnesty International.  “I’ve never been raped in my own space. I’ve never been robbed in my own space. I’ve never been beaten up in my own space. I’ve never been shot in my own space,” sex worker and activist Tamika Spellman told Vox. “I’ve faced all of that on the streets.” Photo By Simon Legner / Wikimedia Commons