Ann Arbor council rejects calls to decriminalize sex work, keeps prostitution law - MLive.com
ANN ARBOR, MI — Ann Arbor’s elected leaders have decided to reject calls to decriminalize sex work in the city, siding with the city attorney’s office and human trafficking survivors.
City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night, Jan. 18, to OK ordinance updates that keep the city’s law against prostitution on the books. While a sex worker advocacy group has argued sex work should be decriminalized, the city attorney’s office argues the law is an important tool to help police investigate human trafficking and get vulnerable people out of bad situations, as not every commercial sex act is voluntary.
A woman who identified herself as a survivor of human trafficking and sexual exploitation addressed council, speaking in favor of keeping the local prostitution law. She said she’s also a victim advocate with 50 survivors on her case load.
“We the survivors need the police to be able to do their jobs, learn to identify us and help us through the courts and the programs,” she said. “Without them, I would be dead.”
Laws matter, added Ann Arbor resident Peg Talburtt, a member of the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force and other advocacy groups, who also urged council to keep the law.
“There are up to 22 laws in the pipeline in Lansing right now, and don’t waste your time or your staff’s time or my tax dollars trying to fix laws for the next couple of months and then having to do it all over again when the new laws come down from Lansing,” she said, adding there will be time for improvements in the future but now the city needs to listen to survivors.
“Educate yourselves about the real issues involved in human trafficking,” Talburtt said. “Create a city and county human trafficking commission and fund services for survivors and prevention. Understand the dynamics and realities of human trafficking, which involve power and control.”
Ann Arbor officials are now considering ways they can do more to address the issue and fund programs to help victims.
Another woman told council she still would be on the streets and being exploited had it not been for a federal human trafficking officer who arrested her two years ago.
“Because of this law, I have been able to change my life through the court system, giving me an opportunity to reshape my life, to be back with my children, to be back with my family, to be back in society working, paying taxes, living a normal life,” she said.
Council members had questions Tuesday night for Deputy City Attorney Arianne Slay, who is leading the city’s ordinance review project and supported the prostitution law, which is part of a broader ordinance section that’s being updated.
The updates do not change the current prohibition or penalties, Slay said. A violation is still a misdemeanor crime punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.
The city’s goal isn’t to criminally prosecute sex workers but to help people escape human trafficking or consensual sex work where they want out but face barriers, Slay said.
“Enforcement has not been our goal in a number of years,” she said, adding the city stands with survivors and is committed to ending human trafficking in the community, though services to help them through a trauma-informed approach are lacking.
With pending changes in state law, there’s an opportunity to do better, but human trafficking is unfortunately happening in the community, Slay said.
“It’s a reality that we need to acknowledge and then take steps to address going forward,” she said.
Among those who’ve advocated for decriminalization of sex work in Ann Arbor is ANSWER Detroit, a group whose name stands for A Network of Sex Workers to Excite Revolution.
Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, said decriminalization is an appropriate longterm goal, but until there’s a more robust social service network, the city should keep existing tools.
“We see right now that we have a lot of situations that are kind of steeped in gender violence, and the agencies designed to protect these vulnerable residents, you know, they might not be up to snuff, they might be unsupported/under-supported,” he said. “We’ve seen that in many instances and we don’t want unintended consequences.”
Council Member Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward, said she has spoken with Slay and met with decriminalization advocates.
“I certainly see the arguments on both sides and I’m, of course, so glad to know that this is not something that we pursue through the courts even now under the current ordinance,” she said. “As attorney Slay mentioned, in the next six months we’re going to see some changes at the state level, including to our funding for diversion and deflection programs.”
As that is percolating, Eyer said she’s interested in putting together a work group on human trafficking at the local level to bring stakeholders together to talk about what the city can do to better serve those in horrific circumstances. She’s troubled by the real stories of women who have found themselves in situations without resources to help them, she said.
“We are not funding that in our community,” Eyer said, calling for funding true deflection programs, including housing for people in danger from human trafficking situations.
For those unfamiliar with the difference between diversion and deflection programs, Slay said diversion programs divert people from the legal system after they’ve been charged with a crime. Deflection programs connect people with treatment and social services before ever being charged.
The city is funding a diversion pilot that started last July and 183 people have been diverted out of the criminal legal system, with specialized programs to help them address root causes that led to their involvement with the system, Slay said.
“And then we dismiss their case,” she said, adding they leave with no criminal record and it’s working great.
Discussing true deflection programs as a next opportunity for the city, Slay said there’s a need for funding to address immediate needs — everything from mental and physical health to addiction treatment and shelter/housing.
“We’ve seen a gaping hole in access even in the last 60 days where we haven’t been having these beds available at SafeHouse, and Delonis is closed to new residents due to COVID,” she said, referring to the Delonis Center homeless shelter downtown. “We have nowhere to send people.”
Slay expressed hopes of council supporting robust deflection programs not just for human trafficking but all crimes.
“Because a lot of times we see survivors of trafficking that don’t present in sex work-related crimes,” she said. “They’re presenting with use of narcotics, possession of narcotics, drugged driving, trespass, drunk and disorderly. We see other crimes, but at their root issue ... they’re a trafficking survivor, so if we have a wider net we can help more people.”
That goes along with the idea of unarmed crisis response as an alternative to police, Slay said, adding she’s tired of seeing marginalized people and people of color in jail, which makes children victims when families don’t get help they need.
MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
source: https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2022/01/ann-arbor-council-rejects-calls-to-decriminalize-sex-work-keeps-prostitution-law.html
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.