Study: 1 In 3 Sex Workers Face Increased Violence Under FOSTA Law

An extensive new research study confirms what has already been widely reported about the consequences of 2018’s FOSTA/SESTA law, which was supposedly designed to curtail online sex trafficking. In the nearly two years since the law took effect, the everyday lives of sex workers have generally become more difficult, less economically sustainable—and in many cases, more violent. According to research by the sex worker advocacy group Hacking//Hustling, in conjunction with Whose Corner Is It Anyway, a Western Massachusetts sex worker rights organization, 33.8 percent of sex workers—or more than one in every three—report that they have experienced increased frequency of violent experiences with their clients since passage of the law, according to a summary of the study by The Daily Dot.  FOSTA/SESTA effectively blew a hole in internet freedom of expression by making platforms and service providers legally liable for any content (such as classified advertising) created by third parties that could be construed as promoting “sex trafficking.”  As a result, sex workers who previously managed their businesses online, allowing them to better screen customers—as well as advertise to potential clients—have been forced “underground.” According to California congressional rep Ro Khanna, one of the few outspoken critics of the law on Capitol Hill, FOSTA/SESTA has effectively “criminalized online sex work,” as well as “suppressed free speech.” The 53-page report by Hacking/Hustling, titled Erased: The Impact of FOSTA/SESTA posted online at this link, appears to support Khanna’s assertions.  The law has “put increased pressure on Internet platforms to censor their users,” while also “left those who rely on sex work as their primary form of income without many of the tools they had used to keep themselves safe,” according to the study.  The study also found that 72.5 percent of sex workers—almost three of every four—say that they have faced “increased economic instability” since Donald Trump signed the “sex trafficking” bill into law in April of 2018, after it was passed on an overwhelming, bipartisan basis by both the House and Senate. But only 8.16 percent of the survey’s respondents said that they consider themselves “financially secure.” That, of course, is fewer than one out of every 10. Almost eight of 10, 78.57 percent, said that they derive the majority of their income from sex work, while nearly half, 46.94 percent, said that sex work was their sole source of income. “I lost all my income, lost my clients, and was forced to go back to working a nine-to-five job that is ableist and doesn’t accommodate my disabilities/health issues,” one sex worker told the researchers. “Sex work gave me freedom and flexibility before I lost it all.” Photo By HackingHustling.org