- Photos of her flat contributed by an indoor worker in the UK
The other week a bill passed the US state of Rhode Island’s legislature closing a loophole that permitted prostitution indoors. While Nevada’s licensed brothels are famous out of proportion to their number and size, few people knew about the Rhode Island situation, which had been going on for many years. In the following story I removed government spokespeople’s statements about how this law ‘brings the state into line’ with the rest of the US (always excepting Nevada) and will help stop sex trafficking and other kinds of organised crime (go to the original story for those). Here are excerpts focusing on the comments of one former sex worker: how she sees the difference in her life if forced to stop selling sex and go into various government assistance programmes. Also note the comments by police: since no extra funds have been allotted for enforcement, he expects little to change.
What does the ban on indoor prostitution mean for RI?
Vasundhara Prasad, The Brief, 10 November 2009
. . . While it was clear that the legal status of indoor prostitution was an unintentional loophole for the past several years, what is less clear is the impact that the ban has had on those whose livelihoods depended it. Are all indoor prostitutes victims of sex trafficking and abuse? Stephanie, a pseudonym, is a twenty five year old mother who runs her own service.
Stephanie: “I’m a single mother, at one point I didn’t have money to feed my kids or myself, so that’s when I got into the business and that’s how i’ve been supporting myself and my kids.” But since the ban was signed into law, she’s stopped, and she’s left with very few options, especially in this economy. “Now that the law’s been passed, I’ve stopped but I also have no money and I’m not sure of what to do now. I’m looking for a job, but it’s kinda impossible. Running out of food, so it’s a sucky situation.”
When asked about people in this situation, Amy Kempe insists that people like Stephanie have other options. “There are a number of resources available to assist individuals during economic recession. Be it food stamps, be it public assistance, be it job training programs.” . . . training programs in healthcare, customer service, and biotechnology. But the single mother of a two and seven year old says the quality of life for her family is dramatically worse when she relies on government services.
Stephanie: “I struggled on a daily basis. I barely had enough to pay the bills and the rent. Then when I started in the business, my kids never went hungry another day. I mean, we went from living on peanut butter sandwiches and noodles to having nice normal meals – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – and being able take my kids and just live a good life. Now I’m not really sure what I’m going to do.” And she says she’s not the only one in this situation.
Stephanie: “Almost every girl I know that has ever been in the business has children and this is how they support, you know, their lifestyle. And a lot of the girls I know go to school – so the way it’s affecting me, it’s going to affect them. Basically paying the rent and making sure the kids are fed. It’s gonna be hard.”
. . . Whether or not the ban on prostitution will be good or bad for the state and its residents, what about the issue of enforcement? Lieutenant Correias had this to say. “It’s not legal any more to go into someone’s home or their home or a hotel room and engage in prostitution. . . So they should be prepared that if they’re going to continue that they may get arrested.” But he added that he doesn’t see this new law as the most important issue on the agenda of his Narcotics and Organized Crime unit. “It’ll be our responsibility to enforce it, but no we’re not getting any more manpower or working more hours. If we were to have any reason to believe that there’s human trafficking involved certainly we’ll move it up the priority scale, but the reduction of violent crime and gun violence specifically will always be our number one priority.”
. . . “If you’re looking at this crime, it’s a misdemeanor. I mean you’re not going to see a lot of people going to jail for prostitution. We’ll never rid the city of prostitution.”
With that knowledge in hand, one can’t help but wonder the same thing as our single mother of two: “I just didn’t see how it was necessary because I didn’t see how it was harming anyone. I thought there were bigger issues that needed to be tackled in the state like the unemployment rate and the crime. But I guess this was something they thought was necessary.”
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While I realize it is little consultation, the sex workers of Rhode Island should not overlook the possibility of collecting unemployment benefits or/and (?) any disability payments that may be available due to the PTSD. Here in California with the assistance of a cooperating physician or surgeon, I think you can collect worker’s comp. benefits while delaying application for the unemployment benefits thus stretching the period of time you can collect benefits — Which, with the Obama approach to government is probably the only any of us is ever going to be “employed” again (and then paid with rubber money, that never quite bounce as high with each successive rebound).
If, by chance, one (or more) of the clubs were not carrying Worker’s Compensation Insurance (as they might try escaping this duty by claiming that you were an independent contractor/worker and an “employees”), then have your attorney look into seeing about a separate civil suit to recover for this injury (PTSD, or whatever else your good doctor may legitimately think of) “work related” injury. In my experience in California, recovery from a regular suit in the California Superior Court has historically run from 3 to 5 times greater than worker’s comp awards. As a lawyer defending personal injury and employment law suits, I’ve seen some pretty strange diseases alleged. As an additional CAVEAT: 1) it is illegal to file a false claim so definitely determine you legitimacy; and, 2) if taxes or any other government regulation was not paid on the “now lost” income source, it may not be prudent to file any kind of a claim.
Being a retired litigator, I am not leaving my name or direct contact information, as I do not want the state bar association to prosecute me for saying something those prudes with blinders could never see the need for it being said. The bar once threaten to have me disbarred for “lowering the decorum of the profession” by reason of my appearing on the old-time Don Chamberlain “California Girls”, first of the women’s only sex talk show.
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Sorry my experiment to use HTML didn’t do what was hoped for!
““Now that the law’s been passed, I’ve stopped but I also have no money and I’m not sure of what to do now. I’m looking for a job, but it’s kinda impossible. Running out of food, so it’s a sucky situation.””
Just saying that perhaps she should have thought ahead, done the responsible thing, and put away some money into savings.
I am sad that RI’s law was changed, though.
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