Black, Brown and East Asian women and girls, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ people have been disproportionately harmed by these laws. Que English, Dorchen Leidholdt and Alexi Meyers, co-chairs of the The New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition said:“We support the decision by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to stop prosecuting section 230.00, meaning people engaged in prostitution and ‘unlicensed practice of a profession’ cases as they relate to prostitution, and to dismiss 6,000 loitering and prostitution-related cases. The Legal Aid Society reaffirms the need for Albany to enact S6419/A8230, legislation that would accomplish this, immediately this session.” However, this policy should not supplant the need to pass legislation that would fully decriminalize sex work and provide for criminal record relief for people convicted of prostitution offense. “We welcome this action from DA Vance to dismiss all pending prostitution and unlicensed massage related cases as well as his new policy to decline to prosecute these arrests going forward,” said Abigail Swenstein, Staff Attorney with The Legal Aid Society’s Exploitation Intervention Project. “We thank the DA’s office, and most notably, the prosecutors in the human trafficking unit, who have listened to and acted on the knowledge gained from speaking to advocates and most importantly, survivors and those with lived experience as sex workers. I am proud to stand together on this momentous day.”
“Finally, I thank Abigail Swenstein of the Legal Aid Society’s Exploitation Intervention Project, who joined me today, as well as Judge Davidson and the Office of Court Administration. Indeed, none of this would have been possible without the tireless work of dedicated individuals who changed not only our laws, but law enforcement’s understanding of their lived experiences. I was proud to support the repeal of this bill, and thank Senator Brad Hoylman, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, and the many, many survivors and advocates who fought to put an end to this practice. “With today’s dismissals, we also close the book on Loitering for the Purpose of Prostitution, known as the ‘Walking While Trans’ for its decades of discriminatory enforcement, unfairly targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community. These cases – many dating back to the 1970s and 1980s – are both a relic of a different New York, and a very real burden for the person who carries the conviction or bench warrant. By vacating warrants, dismissing cases, and erasing convictions for these charges, we are completing a paradigm shift in our approach. Now, we will decline to prosecute these arrests outright, providing services and supports solely on a voluntary basis. “For years, rather than seeking criminal convictions, my Office has reformed its practice to offer services to individuals arrested for prostitution. “Over the last decade we’ve learned from those with lived experience, and from our own experience on the ground: criminally prosecuting prostitution does not make us safer, and too often, achieves the opposite result by further marginalizing vulnerable New Yorkers,” said District Attorney Vance.
Vance also moved to dismiss 5,080 Loitering for the Purpose of Prostitution cases, following New York State’s repeal of the statute known as “Walking While Trans” earlier this year. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr., today announced the Office’s new policy to decline-to-prosecute prostitution and unlicensed massage, and appeared virtually in Manhattan Criminal Court and moved to dismiss 914 Prostitution and Unlicensed Massage cases – in line with the Office’s new policy – preventing unnecessary future contacts with the criminal justice system, eliminating the collateral consequences associated with having a prostitution case or conviction, and empowering New Yorkers to interact with law enforcement without fear of arrest or deportation.
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