My name is Bella and I am a activist with the Rhode Island chapter of Coyote, and I have been a sex worker for over 30 years.
coyoteri.org/index.php
My 1st question is "Does criminalization stop people from buying or selling sex? NO its doesn't, as it is a failed system and law enforcement can't seem to police even 1% of the sex industry, however what criminalization does do is create the perfect playground for bad cops and predators to rob, rape, threaten, beat, exploit and murder sex workers.
Recent research show as a American women I am twice as likely to be raped by a cop, than a random civilian, even convicted felons, yet this is who we have put in charge of stalking sex workers. Law enforcement is allowed to have sex with women and teenagers and then arrest them for prostitution.
www.digitaljournal.com/article/363443#ixzz2nCYD8iWm
My 2st question is "Is Amnesty International aware, that the anti trafficking narrative, admits they know criminalization harms sex workers and victims?
"When I asked about the negative effects the law might have on sex workers, I was told they didn’t really matter, or were even a good thing. ‘I think of course the law has negative consequences for women in prostitution but that’s also some of the effect that we want to achieve with the law,’ Martin said. ‘It shouldn't be as easy as it was before to go out and sell sex."
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2014/01/20/valeria-costa-kostritsky/on-malmskillnadsgatan/
My 3rd question is "Has Amnesty International reviewed the following research where the data is taken right off US government websites and is much different than what is published regulatory in the media.
www.policeprostitutionandpolitics.com/pdfs_all/Truth_about_sex_trafficking/Cops_prostitutes_child_sexual_exploitation_Sex_Trafficking.pdf
My 4th question is has Amnesty International viewed the 2013 award winning film "American Courtesans" which was made to give voice to 11 USA sex workers. //www.americancourtesans.com
My 5th question is is Amnesty International aware that in the US in the state of Rhode Island indoor sex work between consenting adults was decriminalized from 1979 until November 2009, and it was a successful model and NO trafficking victims were found during these 30 years. in 2008 the Craigslist killer was caught because after he killed the lady in Boston he went to Rhode Island and robbed a sex worker and she dialed 911 and the killer was caught within hours.
My 6th question is "Is Amnesty International aware that the trafficking narrative publishes misguided information and is directly promoting violence towards sex workers and victims, and they refuse to listen to the voices of millions of sex workers worldwide. Why is it that the trafficking narrative is not looking for ways to reduce harm to sex workers and victims of trafficking?
My 7th and final question is, does Amnesty International understand that sex workers could be the best tool in actually finding those who are victims, as nobody wants to stop trafficking more than the sex workers themselves.
Enclosing sex workers around the world DEMAND to be decriminalized, and we want our right to agency and our labor rights. We also want to see discrimination and hate crime legislation put in place.
Bella's final thoughts:
Its time to change the social perception that she wasn't a person, she was a "prostitute". No one wants to feel a sense of community or sameness with her. She was something other than us and therefore we don’t need to feel fear or grief at the fact or the manner of her death."