Sex Workers
Sex workers are confronted with stigma, violence, and discrimination. Because few states have Good Samaritan laws that shield sex workers, they often have limited options to seek help or to report crimes without facing repercussions. This page explains what sex work is, the issues faced by sex workers, and the federal and state laws governing sex workers.
Sex work is the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products between consenting adults of a legal age and mental capacity to consent for material compensation. Sex work only refers to voluntary sexual transactions. It does not refer to human trafficking and other coerced or non consensual sexual transactions such as child prostitution.
Sex work is diverse and may apply to sexual or erotic activities for payment. It goes beyond prostitution, which exclusively describes the exchange of sexual acts for payment. Types of sex work include various consensual sexual services or erotic performances involving varying degrees of physical contact with clients, such as webcam modeling, stripping, pole dancing, phone sex, erotic dancing, and erotic massage.
Sex workers use physical, psychological, interpersonal, technical, and money management skills to perform their work. They also need the mental and emotional capacity to deal with the strong prejudice levied against them.
Sex workers do this work to make a living. While sex workers are often asked why they do this work, gas pump attendants, office clerks, doctors and lawyers are seldom asked to explain their motivations behind their profession. Being conscious of and challenging this double standard contributes to the social integration of sex workers and, as a result, to the fight against their marginalization. At the end of the day sex work, as other work, is an economic activity people engage in to pay for living expenses such as rent, food or bills.
Individuals working in the sex industry deserve to have better control over their working conditions. Sex workers should be recognized as full citizens, listened to without being judged, taken seriously, and integrated into the community without fear of being ostracized. They also need their human rights to be recognized and respected, and to have access to public services without discrimination.
One common question is why are certain sexual acts for money are legal and others are not? Generally, this refers to exotic dancing and pornographic films. The answer is that in both situations the activity is only somewhat legal under certain circumstances and may easily become illegal if a very thin line is crossed.
In the case of exotic dancing, states and local municipalities are usually responsible for licensing the conduct and providing regulations for how it may be conducted. While some jurisdictions allow things like contact and partial nudity with patrons, others do not. Some require that performers be licensed, and others do not. The laws are so widely varied that you will need to check with local counsel to have your specific questions answered. Visit workplacefairness.org for a directory of employment attorneys.
Pornography lives in a unique legal gray zone. Just as in prostitution, performers are paid for sex acts, but this is usually not considered illegal. The distinction comes down to who is paying and the purpose for the sex. If a third party pays two people to have sex while it is recorded, this is a performance for entertainment purposes. The question becomes much fuzzier if the person paying for the performance is also involved in the sex act, and it is not at all clear that simply recording the sex act makes it a legal performance versus simple prostitution. Contact a lawyer to learn more about the law in your state. Visit workplacefairness.org for a directory of employment attorneys.
Good Samaritan laws provide legal immunity to people who report certain crimes. They encourage crime-reporting so that victims may be helped. In relation to sex work, Good Samaritan laws protect sex workers from liability and prosecution if they seek help from police by reporting sexual assault.
New Hampshire. HB 123 grants immunity from prosecution for prostitution for reporting a sexual assault.
Nevada. HB 18 directs that a person who reports to law enforcement that the person is a victim of or a witness to a crime that arose from the person’s involvement in prostitution or human trafficking shall not be cited, arrested, or prosecuted for a violation of the prostitution statutes.
Individuals participating in sex work often lack the legal and social protections afforded to workers in other industries. Without explicit legal or labor protections afforded by union support, sex workers are especially vulnerable to sexual assault, stalking, harassment, and other forms of abuse from law enforcement. As independent contractors, many dancers are also hesitant or unable to report clubs and management for labor violations like infrastructure failures or a culture of sexual harassment and violence.
The internet allows sex workers to expand their audience and enhance their safety. Benefits include a reduced risk of violence, better wages and adherence to payment, less opportunities with negative interactions with law enforcement, and more.
Like all other employees, exotic dancers and similar workers are entitled to a safe workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires strip clubs to comply with the same safety and health standards that it imposes on other businesses. Safety includes freedom from violence, such as assault and sexual harassment.
In addition to federal authorities enforcing these laws, some sex workers have themselves coordinated to insist upon their rights. For example, a group of exotic dancers for a club in Los Angeles protested poor working conditions by wearing costumes to represent their employer’s alleged OSHA violations.
Strippers United is an example of advocacy organizations run by current and former sex workers. It informs exotic dancers and similar workers of the employee rights, from workplace
safety concerns to forming unions.
Women, transvestites, and transsexuals working in the sex industry need to have better control over their working conditions. They need to gain or improve the personal skills and abilities that allow them to live and work in a healthy way with dignity. People who do sex work need to be recognized as full citizens, listened to without being judged, taken seriously, and integrated into the community without fear of being ostracized. They also need their human rights to be recognized and respected, and to have access to public services without discrimination.
Human trafficking is an egregious human rights violation involving the threat or use of force, abduction, deception, or other forms of coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This may include forced labor, sexual exploitation, slavery, and more.
Sex work, on the other hand, is a consensual transaction between adults, where the act of selling or buying sexual services is not a violation of human rights. Conflating trafficking with sex work can be harmful and counterproductive.
Sex worker organizations oppose exploitation, and many argue that the most effective way to address exploitation, including human trafficking, is to strengthen workers’ rights and address economic injustices. Precarious work, restrictive migration policies, and gender inequality all contribute to greater vulnerability to exploitation.
International Sex Workers’ Day is a global annual event dedicated to observance and raising of awareness about the rights and well-being of sex workers around the world. The day offers an opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by individuals involved in the sex industry and promote discussions on how to ensure their safety, dignity, and human rights.
International Sex Workers’ Day holds immense importance for advocating the rights of sex workers and combating the prejudices they face. It aims to challenge the social stigma surrounding the profession and raise awareness about the need for safer working conditions, access to healthcare, and legal protections.
Prostitution is a legal term that involves engaging, agreeing, or offering to engage in sexual conduct with another person in return for a fee.
Prostitution is illegal in all states except Nevada and Maine. Whether or not other types of sex work is illegal depends on how states define those acts. Nevada law prohibits solicitation and prostitution unless it takes place in a licensed house of prostitution. Only 10 counties in Nevada allow prostitution. Maine decriminalized prostitution for the adults who sell sexual services, not for buyers. See the law for more information. See state laws for more information.
Prostitution is a morally charged term that has been associated with deviance, corruption and criminality, and still is today. The use of terms like “prostitution” and “prostitute” restrict a person’s identity to the activities they engage in. These activities should be defined as work because it is an occupation that generates income. Using the term sex work helps draw a distinction between the economic activity and the person’s identity.
