Sex workers are pitted against each other in fight over California’s loitering l

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BY ANITA CHABRIACOLUMNIST
JAN. 3, 2022 5 AM PT

SAN FRANCISCO — Cold blue light from a convenience store sign spilled onto Star and Dream, not their real names, as they stood on a dark sidewalk in the Mission District, working to sell sex to johns.
In a scene repeated daily on dozens of similar "tracks" across the state, men in cars rolled slowly by the women, who are just past their teenage years but looked young enough to be on their way to a high school dance.

The drivers leaned low to peer through their windows, examining Star with half her hair in pigtails that brushed the collar of a leopard print coat and Dream in a thin black sweater pulled close over an electric-blue jumpsuit to ward off the November night.

Though prostitution is illegal in California, it is often hard to tell in open marketplaces such as this one on Capp Street, which has been running for years. When police come, it is many times more of a harassment for Star and Dream than an end to their work, they said.

"I've gotten tickets for just like standing right here," Star said, referring to a loitering law that prohibits hanging out with the intent to sell sex. "I don't go to court, so I don't really care."

The likely recipient of a bench warrant for missed court dates, Star and other sex workers are at the center of a heated fight in California over people criminalized for standing on street corners, and what some contend is the subjective and discriminatory criteria for loitering with the intent to commit prostitution.

That debate has fed a larger clash about how to best help those forced into prostitution without stigmatizing and harming those who choose sex work. It's an emotional dispute that pits sex workers against other sex workers and trafficking survivors and which has larger implications for how the future of this illicit industry will be handled in California, and which now is in Gov. Gavin Newsom's hands to decide.

In September, legislators passed Senate Bill 357, which would repeal loitering laws around prostitution, including those that target pimps and buyers. But the bill wasn't sent to Newsom for his signature or veto. Instead, in an unusual move that insiders said was requested by the governor's office, it was held and won't receive his consideration until early this year.

In recent weeks, sex workers and advocates on both sides have lobbied Newsom over a decision that some contend is a first step in decriminalizing sex work in California — in effect, leaving it illegal but repealing or not enforcing laws meant to stop it.

Those in favor of decriminalization, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which sponsored the bill, say that removing legal penalties will make the job safer and provide more opportunities for those who in engage in sex work by keeping them out of the criminal justice system or allowing them to seal some criminal records.

Those opposed say it could increase exploitation and tie law enforcement's hands when it comes to finding victims and stopping traffickers.

Though often invisible to many locals, street prostitution is a booming industry in nearly every city, one that some participants say suffered little downturn from the pandemic: Figueroa Street in South Los Angeles, Oakland's International Boulevard, the so-called Motel Drive off a stretch of Highway 99 in Fresno, even the lots of truck stops.

Disproportionate numbers of those renting their bodies are women of color, according to studies. Some sex workers are members of LGBTQ or undocumented communities, making them vulnerable to exploitation. Though exact numbers of sex workers are hard to determine, statewide there were more than 4,000 arrests for prostitution in 2020, according to the California Department of Justice — a number that has declined by 45% since 2015 as attitudes about prostitution have changed.

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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-03/should-sex-workers-be-arrested-for-loitering