Libertarian Party Adopts New Sex Work Plank, Becomes Only Notable U.S. Party to Endorse Prostitution Decriminalization
The LP's move comes the same week the Green Party explicitly rejected a platform that protects sex worker rights.
Sex Work
Why Does the Press Routinely Misidentify Prostitution as 'Sex Trafficking'?: Podcast
Reason's Elizabeth Nolan Brown on libertarian feminism, how to encrypt your email, and more
D.C. Candidates Battle Over Decriminalizing Sex Work
With the D.C. primary approaching, candidates are quizzed on a bill that would decriminalize prostitution in the district.
When You're Done Reading This Issue of Reason, You Might Want to Burn It
We offer how-tos, personal stories, and guides for all kinds of activities that can and do happen right at the borders of legally permissible behavior.
What to Know Before You Pay for Sex
Tips, tricks, and common sense to make hiring an escort a breeze
Human Trafficking Court in Delaware Shuts Down for Lack of Human-Trafficking Victims
The Delaware Criminal Justice Council found it difficult to "justify the resources that have been expend on so few" participants with such a "low rate of success."
Anti-Sex Work Crusaders Now Coming for Legal Prostitution in Nevada
"Of course the voices of actual sex workers are nowhere to be found," says brothel worker and PhD student Christina Parreira.
Pardon Jack Johnson
The White Slavery Panic of the late 19th/early 20th centuries caused Congress to pass the vaguely-worded Mann Act. It allowed the FBI and prosecutors broad discretion to go after individuals they didn't like.
Backpage Plea to Texas Sex Trafficking Charge Turns On CEO's Admission to Brokering Adult Prostitution
Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer turned over the company and seven other executives in exchange for leniency.
Backpage Founder's 93 Charges Lack Actual Sex-Trafficking Claims
Indictment reveals money-laundering, conspiracy charges, and a tricky federal law known as the Travel Act.
Beware Censorship by Proxy
Prodding private companies into self-censorship is a dangerous government tradition.
Feds Seize Control of Backpage.com; Founder Faces 93-Count Indictment
Site had long been a target for sex work and sex trafficking advertisements.
New Backpage Ruling Lays Bare Some of the Lies Undergirding FOSTA
The ruling allows a civil suit against Backpage to proceed for one of the case's three plaintiffs.
Hours After FOSTA Passes, Reddit Bans 'Escorts' and 'SugarDaddy' Communities
The great content crackdown has begun.
FOSTA Passes Senate, Making Prostitution Ads a Federal Crime Against Objections from DOJ and Trafficking Victims
The measure will "make it harder, not easier, to root out and prosecute sex traffickers," said Sen. Ron Wyden, one of only two senators to vote no on FOSTA.
Sign Referencing Civil War Hero Is Sexual Harassment, Says Massachusetts Lawmaker
Rep. Michelle DuBois wants to remove a statehouse sign that reads "General Hooker Entrance" because it is an affront to "women's dignity."
$20 Fee for Porn Access Proposed in Rhode Island
Device makers would be required to block porn, prostitution hubs, and all content that fails "current standards of decency."
Florida Lawmaker Drops Proposal to Let Victims of Sex Trafficking Sue Hotels
Disney allegedly lobbied against the bill behind the scenes.
House Passes 'Anti Sex-Trafficking' Bill Opposed by Both DOJ and Trafficking Survivors
The bill makes "promoting prostitution" a federal crime, holds websites legally liable for user-posted content, and lets states retroactively prosecute offenders.
New Jersey Cop Fired for Having Once Appeared in Fetish Films
Meanwhile, drunk driving and vehicular assault by officers are not firing offenses in Hudson County.
'Family Values' Republican Accused of Paying for Sex Also Voted to Raise Penalties for Paying for Sex
Last year, Utah's Jon E. Stanard voted to raise the penalty for soliciting prostitution to $2,500. And this year...
New Orleans Nixes Plan for Strict Cap on French Quarter Strip Clubs
"There is nothing inherent" to strip clubs "that causes crime," say city planners.
'Keep Your Tyranny Off Our Titties,' Say New Orleans Strippers
In a series of protests, strip club workers and their allies are pushing back against abusive policing.
Super Bowl Sex Trafficking Myth Gives Good Cover for Federal Security Theater
Minneapolis is being transformed into a police state.
What's Hot in Porn Tech: Blockchain, Cam Girls, and Snapchat
New technologies are helping the adult industry adjust to government regulations and give more power to performers.
Texas Cops Charge 'Child Sex Trafficking Victim' With Felony
They also arrested her younger friend for prostitution.
The Internet Makes Life Better and Safer for Sex Workers. Obviously.
A large new study out of the U.K. proves it.
No Right to Earn a Living Via Prostitution, Says Federal Court
"There is no constitutional rights to engage in illegal employment," rules the 9th Circuit court.
The Phony Feminism of Kamala Harris
Harris only cares about other women's rights when those rights don't conflict with her career ambitions.
The Best Sex Work Writing of 2017
We rounded up the year's best writing, reporting, and research on erotic industries, those who work in them, and how they're getting screwed by U.S. authorities and laws.
King County Cops Illegally Recorded Sex Stings
The good news? Many whose lives they tried to ruin are now off the hook.
Prostitution Ad Ban Creeps Forward, Threatening Social Media and Sex Workers
The bill would gut Section 230 and make sex advertising a federal crime.
Posting or Hosting Sex Ads Could Mean 25 Years in Federal Prison Under New Republican Proposal
A related measure would open digital platforms to liability for past crimes committed by users.
Tampa Bathhouses Become Latest Target of Sex-Trafficking Panic
The city council is considering a mammoth package of new rules that threaten Tampa bathhouses and those who visit them.
Cops Out HIV-Positive Woman to Neighbors and Media
"Around the corner, there's a family neighborhood that's decorated for Christmas," a local television station reports while airing her photo.
Cops Brag That They Bullied a Woman Out of Town After a Neighbor Said She Sells Sex
An investigation would've taken months, so Larksville Police decided to skip that part.
Hillbilly Hotties Win First Round in Bikini-Barista Battle
"Bikinis can convey the very type of political speech that lies at the core of the First Amendment," writes federal judge.
Porn Star Cherie DeVille and Rapper Coolio Announce White House 2020 Bid
Their slogan? "Make American Fucking Awesome Again." But DeVille's real mission is to challenge stereotypes about sex workers.
Denver Cashes in by Seizing Cars for Low-Level Crimes, Even Without Convictions
The city earns more than $2 million a year grabbing more than 1,800 vehicles.
Stossel: Who Owns Your Body?
John Stossel confronts a prostitute, a pimp and an anti-prostitution crusader.
Department of Homeland Security
Eros.com Still Lives, But Homeland Security Raid Has Sex Workers Worried
The fate of the popular adult ad platform remains unclear after a raid on Eros' North Carolina servers.
Feds Crack Down on New National Security Threat: Unlicensed Massages
Massage-parlor panic is crushing small businesses, civil liberties, and people's lives. Here are eight examples from October.
Federal Court Ponders Constitutionality of Prostitution Ban
A right to engage in prostitution seems like "a natural extension of Supreme Court precedent," says judge.
