TonioTimeDaily

"Sex workers themselves are not inherently trafficked through their job profession, and there are plenty of individuals who find empowerment and/or economic stability in selling sex to consumers. Nobody who is arguing for the legalization of sex work is saying that we should legalize sex trafficking, and presenting a false equivalency between the two only serves to stigmatize sex workers even further into the fringes of our society. Far too often, people with even the best intentions will assume that someone is being trafficked when the sex worker themselves does not believe this to be the case. The most concrete way to know a sex worker’s treatment is to ask sex workers themselves without personal judgement or indignation. If more policymakers, and law enforcement asked sex workers about their day-to-day experiences rather than relying on their own assumptions and implied moral values, the United States would likely be a far safer country for sex workers to operate in than it is today.

To work towards the de-stigmatization of sex work in popular culture, we must put pressure on media producers, distributors, content creators, journalists, law enforcement, and countless others to reframe how they view sex workers. This task, as stated earlier, cannot fall solely upon sex workers themselves in a society that actively criminalizes their revenue stream, endangers them in and out of custody, constantly scrutinizes their every move, belittles them on the media, and then blames sex workers themselves when the crushing weight of stigma ends up translating to real-world violence. While consumers can help determine the acceptability of various depictions of sex work, a bulk of the stigma against sex workers can only be solved through structural and political reforms. Until the day comes when sex work is legalized and treated as equally valid as any other form of labor, we must continue to fight alongside sex workers for their basic human rights. Failing to address this issue with due diligence will continue the stigmatization and subsequent violence towards sex workers for years to come."

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