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By EVELYN NIEVES, Associated Press Writer Evelyn Nieves, Associated Press
Writer Tue Oct 21, 5:48 pm ET
Prostitute Patricia West, 22, poses for a photograph in front of City Hall in
AP Prostitute Patricia West, 22, poses for a photograph in front of City Hall
in San Francisco, Friday,
SAN FRANCISCO In this live-and-let-live town, where medical marijuana clubs
do business next to grocery stores and an annual fair celebrates sadomasochism,
prostitutes could soon walk the streets without fear of arrest.
San Francisco would become the first major U.S. city to decriminalize
prostitution if voters next month approve Proposition K a measure that
forbids local authorities from investigating, arresting or prosecuting anyone
for selling sex.
The ballot question technically would not legalize prostitution since state law
still prohibits it, but the measure would eliminate the power of local law
enforcement officials to go after prostitutes.
Proponents say the measure will free up $11 million the police spend each year
arresting prostitutes and allow them to form collectives.
"It will allow workers to organize for our rights and for our safety," said
Patricia West, 22, who said she has been selling sex for about a year by
placing ads on the Internet. She moved to San Francisco in May from Texas to
work on Proposition K.
Even in tolerant San Francisco where the sadomasochism fair draws thousands
of tourists and a pornographic video company is housed in a former armory the
measure faces an uphill battle, with much of the political establishment
opposing it.
Some form of prostitution is already legal in two states. Brothels are allowed
in rural counties in Nevada. And Rhode Island permits the sale of sex behind
closed doors between consulting adults, but it prohibits street prostitution
and brothels.
In 2004, almost two-thirds of voters in nearby Berkeley rejected
decriminalization. But proponents of Proposition K say their proposal has a
better shot in San Francisco, which they believe is more sexually liberal than
the city across the bay.
After all, the world's oldest profession has long been established here. During
the Gold Rush, the neighborhood closest to the piers was a seedy pleasure
center of sex, gambling and drinking known as the Barbary Coast.
These days, on certain corners, prostitutes sell their bodies day and night,
ducking into doorways and alleys when police pass by. One recent afternoon in
the Mission District, six prostitutes were plying their trade on a single
block.
Police made 1,583 prostitution arrests in 2007 and expect to make a similar
number this year. But the district attorney's office says most defendants are
fined, placed in diversion programs or both. Fewer than 5 percent get
prosecuted for solicitation, which is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six
months in jail.
Proposition K has been endorsed by the local Democratic Party. But the mayor,
district attorney, police department and much of the business community oppose
the idea, contending it would increase street prostitution, allow pimps the run
of neighborhoods and hamper the fight against sex trafficking, which would
remain illegal because it involves forcing people into the sex trade.
The San Francisco Chronicle editorialized against the measure, saying it could
make the city a magnet for prostitution.
If the proposal passes, "we wouldn't be able to investigate prostitution, and
it's going to be pretty difficult for us to locate these folks who are victims
of trafficking otherwise," said Capt. Al Pardini, head of the police
department's vice unit. "It's pretty rare that we get a call that says: 'I'm a
victim of human trafficking' or 'I suspect human trafficking in my
neighborhood.'"
The proposition would also prohibit police from accepting federal or state
funds for sex trafficking investigations that involve racial profiling. Such
investigations often arise from raids on brothels that advertise as Asian
massage parlors.
"We feel that repressive policies don't help trafficking victims, and that
human rights-based approaches, including decriminalization, are actually more
effective," said Carol Leigh, co-founder of the Bay Area Sex Workers Advocacy
Network and a longtime advocate for prostitutes' rights.
But San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris said the ballot question
mistakenly assumes prostitution is a victimless crime.
"The crime of prostitution does not exist by itself," Harris said. "Along with
it come pimps, johns and other crimes that really impact the safety of
neighborhoods."
If the measure passes, supporters say, prostitutes would not feel the need for
pimps as protection. But opponents insist it would embolden pimps who trap drug
addicts into prostitution by plying them with drugs.
"The proponents usually paint a fairly rosy picture of two consenting adults
and a monetary exchange at the end," Pardini said. "They don't factor in the
people that are being exploited and people that are being controlled, the ones
manipulated both physically and chemically."