Poll: Majority of Americans Now Back Sex Work Decriminalization

According to a new poll released on Thursday, for the first time in United States history, more Americans favor the decriminalization of sex work than oppose it. The poll taken by YouGov Blue for the advocacy group Data for Progress found that 52 percent of respondents say that they either “strongly” or “somewhat” support sex work decriminalization.Perhaps unsurprisingly, the strongest support for decriminalization comes from the youngest potential voters—those ages 18 to 29 years old. Among that group, 42 percent said that they “strongly” support sex work decriminalization. Another 23 percent say that they “somewhat” back decriminalization.But the next-youngest demographic, ages 30 to 44, show the highest degree of overall support, with 66 percent supporting decriminalization, divided between 39 percent “strong” support, and 27 percent who “somewhat” support the reform.Young people “understand that police and criminalization are not effective strategies for dealing with issues," said Data for Progress fellow Nina Luo, in a statement released along with the survey results.The Data for Progress report also addresses the question of whether decriminalizing sex work would lead to an increase in sex trafficking—noting that most human trafficking does not involve the sex trade at all. In fact, cites statistics showing that 64 percent of human trafficking victims are forced into the labor sector, “working most commonly in domestic work, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture.”“Most participants in the sex trades are not victims of trafficking as the term is defined, so the concepts should not be conflated,” the Data for Progress report says.Sex work decriminalization has recently become an issue in the 2020 presidential  campaign—though two of the most prominent Democrats supporting decriminalization, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, have since dropped out of the race.Nonetheless, the report notes, â€œfor the first time in presidential primary history, 2020 candidates have competed for a progressive position on the sex trade.” One major obstacle to the mainstream acceptance of sex work decriminalization, however, is revealed by the poll’s age breakdown. Older Americans are not only more likely to vote, but less likely to support sex work decriminalization.Voters ages 45 to 60 years and older have been the most frequent voters in every election since at least 1984. But majorities in those demographics continue to oppose sex work decriminalization, or say that they are not sure on the issue.Photo By SG ZA / Wikimedia Commons Public Domain