SAFE SEX Workers Study Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3165 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study to assess the unintended impacts on the health and safety of people engaged in transactional sex, in connection with the enactment of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–164) and the loss of interactive computer services that host information related to sexual exchange, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 8, 2020 Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study to assess the unintended impacts on the health and safety of people engaged in transactional sex, in connection with the enactment of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–164) and the loss of interactive computer services that host information related to sexual exchange, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3165 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SESTA/FOSTA Ex- 2 amination of Secondary Effects for Sex Workers Study 3 Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE SEX Workers Study Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 The Congress finds the following: 6 (1) People who engage in consensual, trans- 7 actional sex utilize online platforms to protect their 8 health, safety, and independence. This use includes 9 building community connections, distribution of 10 harm reduction information and techniques, identi- 11 fication and screening of potential clients, and nego- 12 tiating the terms of consensual, transactional sex 13 services, including condom use and other harm re- 14 duction strategies. 15 (2) Widespread discrimination against popu- 16 lations, including LGBTQI+ individuals, particu- 17 larly transgender women of color, prevents many 18 from accessing formal employment resources and 19 educational opportunities. 20 (3) In the 2015 United States Transgender 21 Survey conducted by the National Center for 22 Transgender Equality, 19 percent of respondents re- 23 ported having exchanged sex for resources, such as 24 for money, food, or a place to sleep. Transgender 25 women of color, including Black (42 percent), Amer- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3165 IS ican Indian (28 percent), multiracial (27 percent), 1 Latina (23 percent), and Asian (22 percent) re- 2 spondents were more likely to have participated in 3 sex work than the overall sample. 4 (4) In the 2015 United States Transgender 5 Survey, respondents who experienced homelessness 6 in the past year (17 percent) were more than three 7 times as likely to have participated in sex work dur- 8 ing that year compared to the overall sample. 9 (5) On a broader scale, internet platforms fos- 10 ter connections between people and play an integral 11 part in American society. Meaningful regulation of 12 internet platforms must take into account the role 13 they play in the health, safety, and privacy of all 14 people’s lives. 15 (6) While policymakers, representatives of inter- 16 net platforms, and some advocates have discussed 17 ways to mitigate the use of internet platforms to de- 18 crease exploitation, people who consensually trade 19 sex are rarely involved in the drafting of legislation 20 or policies, or in assessing their impact, despite 21 being amongst the populations who are impacted by 22 legislation and policies related to the regulation of 23 these internet platforms. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3165 IS (7) On February 27, 2018, the House of Rep- 1 resentatives passed the Allow States to Fight Online 2 Sex Trafficking Act, known as SESTA/FOSTA. 3 While SESTA/FOSTA holds websites liable for user- 4 generated content that facilitates sex trafficking, it 5 also impacts online platforms where users discuss 6 consensual sex work and related topics. 7 (8) Contemporaneously with the passage of 8 SESTA/FOSTA in the Senate on March 21, 2018, 9 websites preemptively shut down, some directly cit- 10 ing the law’s passage as the rationale for closure. 11 (9) One week before President Donald Trump 12 signed SESTA/FOSTA into law (Public Law 115– 13 164), the Department of Justice seized 14 Backpage.com and arrested Backpage employees, 15 citing promotion of prostitution and money laun- 16 dering charges, similar to the Department of Home- 17 land Security’s seizure of Rentboy.com only a few 18 years prior. 19 (10) While these websites and individual ac- 20 counts have been closing down, there has been no 21 national investigation rigorously examining the im- 22 pact of losing access to these platforms on the health 23 and safety of people in consensual, transactional sex 24 work. Regional and anecdotal information from 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3165 IS health and safety service providers and sex workers 1 has pointed to significant impacts on the health and 2 safety of people who engage in consensual, trans- 3 actional sex. 4 (11) Community organizations have reported 5 increased homelessness of sex workers, including of 6 sex workers who are caretakers for their families 7 and have lost the economic stability provided by ac- 8 cess to online platforms. 9 (12) Sex workers have reported a reduced abil- 10 ity to screen potential clients for safety, and nego- 11 tiate for boundaries such as condom use, resulting in 12 reports of physical and sexual violence. 13 (13) Many sex workers have turned to street- 14 based work, which has historically involved higher 15 rates of violence than other forms of transactional 16 sex. Street-based sex workers have frequently noted 17 practices which harm their health and safety, such 18 as the confiscation of condoms by police, or use of 19 condoms as evidence of arrest for prostitution. 20 (14) With this new level of precarity, isolation, 21 and vulnerability, there is substantial anecdotal evi- 22 dence that members of the sex work community are 23 more frequently being contacted by third parties 24 seeking to engage in management activities. This in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3165 IS cludes both sex workers who had always worked 1 independently, as well as those who have previously 2 experienced violence and exploitation by a third 3 party. 4 (15) The United States Government has long 5 discussed the importance of assessing collateral con- 6 sequences when looking at other industries. A com- 7 prehensive study is essential to evaluate the impact 8 on the health and safety of those involved in consen- 9 sual, transactional sex, who are increasingly losing 10 access to digital platforms, which have been used for 11 harm reduction information and techniques, and to 12 screen clients. Informed government policies begin 13 with seeking out relevant information to better guide 14 our actions moving forward. 15 SEC. 3. STUDY ON UNINTENDED IMPACTS ON HEALTH AND 16 SAFETY OF PEOPLE ENGAGED IN TRANS- 17 ACTIONAL SEX AS A RESULT OF THE LOSS OF 18 CERTAIN ONLINE RESOURCES. 19 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and Human 20 Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 21 in consultation as appropriate with the Director of the 22 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Director 23 of the National Institutes of Health, and the Assistant 24 Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3165 IS study the impacts on the health and safety of people en- 1 gaged in transactional sex resulting from the loss of access 2 to interactive computer services (as defined in section 3 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 4 230(f))) in connection with the closure of websites (includ- 5 ing Backpage.com) that host information related to sexual 6 exchange, on or after February 27, 2018, in anticipation 7 of, or in response to, the enactment of the Allow States 8 and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 9 (Public Law 115–164). 10 (b) INTERVIEWS AND SURVEYS.—The study under 11 subsection (a) shall include interviews with, and surveys 12 conducted by, nonprofit and community-based organiza- 13 tions that provide direct services to people engaged in 14 transactional sex. 15 (c) TOPICS.—The study under subsection (a) shall in- 16 clude assessment of the following impacts on people en- 17 gaged in transactional sex: 18 (1) Changes in access to technology-related 19 harm reduction services. 20 (2) Changes in ability to negotiate terms with 21 potential clients. 22 (3) Changes in experiences of violence from cli- 23 ents. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3165 IS (4) Changes in interactions with law enforce- 1 ment officials, including changes in police surveil- 2 lance, stops, and arrests. 3 (5) Changes in contact from third parties. 4 (6) Changes in relationship to and reliance on 5 third parties. 6 (7) Changes in experiences of exploitation. 7 (8) Impacts on access to economic resources. 8 (9) Impacts on homelessness and housing sta- 9 bility. 10 (10) Impacts on mental health. 11 (11) Impacts on vulnerability to the trans- 12 mission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infec- 13 tions. 14 (12) Changes in participation in other 15 criminalized behavior. 16 (13) Disparities in these effects on key popu- 17 lations typically underserved by service providers, 18 specifically LGBTQI+ individuals, people living in 19 rural areas, racial and ethnic minorities, Tribal com- 20 munities, individuals experiencing exploitation and 21 trafficking, and undocumented and documented for- 22 eign nationals. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3165 IS (14) Any other impacts on people engaged in 1 consensual, transactional sex, as determined appro- 2 priate by the Secretary for inclusion in the study. 3 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 4 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 5 the Congress a report on the results of the study under 6 subsection (a) and make such report available to the pub- 7 lic. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3165.IS S3165 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS