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.
Sex Work
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.
Feds 'Rescue' Women from Freedom and Money in 11th 'Operation Cross Country'
Hear from the real victims of this cruel FBI charade.
Who's 'the Harvey Weinstein of' Sex Work? The Police
This week has a lot of people wondering "who's the Harvey Weinstein?" of their industry. For sex workers, the answer is all too often a local cop.
Cases Dropped Against California Cops Accused of Statutory Rape, Prostitution With Police Dispatcher's Daughter
Judge says Bay Area cops accused of sex crimes might not have known that Oakland teenager "Celeste Guap" was underage.
There Aren't Enough Beds in This Virginia Jail for All the Women Caught in Heroin and 'Human Trafficking' Dragnets
"We don't have enough space for them," said sheriff.
D.C. Could Become Only U.S. City to Decriminalize Prostitution
A new bill would remove all criminal penalties in the District for buying or selling sex.
Feminist Porn Isn't Free
A new porn platform for women claims to promote ethical, feminist smut while pirating clips and stealing from sex workers.
Wiretapping Sex Workers, Punishing Pre-Crime, and National Strategy to Stop Sex-Buyers Approved by Senate
Congress moves to grant Trump administration vast new policing powers, because "sex trafficking."
Bikini Baristas Sue City in the Name of Free Speech and Women's Rights
City worries bikini hot dog stands could be next.
Husband Gets Human-Trafficking Charge for Driving His Wife to a Motel
There was no trafficking victim here-just a couple attempting private sexual activity with another consenting adult. But Maryland cops don't care.
HBO, David Simon Chart the Rise of the Modern Sex Economy in The Deuce
Prostitution and porn during the 1970s focus of new series.
Backpage Executives Escape Pimping Charges Kamala Harris Brought (Twice) Against Them
The state will continue to pursue money-laundering charges against Carl Ferrer, Michael Lacey, and James Larkin.
Child Sex-Trafficking Victim Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Prison for Child Sex-Trafficking
Hope Zeferjohn's role was limited to chatting with the "victim"-who was never actually trafficked-on Facebook.
No, the Solar Eclipse Will Not Cause a Spike in Sex Trafficking
Like all things 2017, an old urban legend takes an even more ridiculous turn.
Profiling and Prostitution Pre-Crime in Georgia
In one case, a person whose legal identity was listed as male was arrested for sitting at a bus stop while "dressed as a woman" and carrying condoms.
They Won't Stop at Backpage
The "Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act" would not stop sexual exploitation. But it could blow up the legal framework that supports the internet as we know it.
Missouri Attorney General Hawley Files Desperate and Deceptive Motion to Dismiss Backpage Lawsuit
AG Josh Hawley's "new evidence" against the U.S. company is actions carried out by foreign contractors for foreign websites.
Federal Judge Notes Good Done by Gay Escort Site, Sentences Founder to Six Months in Prison
The law must be followed, even if breaking the law actually makes people safer.
Sexual Consent in Seattle Must Involve Element of 'Leisure,' Claims Top Cop
What Korean sex workers "were doing could not be called consensual because they were being paid," Val Richey tells The Seattle Times.
Lawmakers Demand Sessions Investigate Backpage's 'Criminal Role in Sex Trafficking' in Wake of Misleading Washington Post Article
Post says Backpage hired a contractor that catfished on foreign competitors' sites.
Damning New Report Shows How Oakland Cops Covered Up Their Sexual Exploitation of a Minor
Making matters worse, the report concludes, was "the tone at the top."
Getting to the Truth of the Link Between Porn and Rape
Studies showing an ostensible link between watching porn and committing rape are full of flaws.
Congress Wants to Let Cops Wiretap Sex Workers, the CDC Study Them, and Homeland Security Screen Them
A batch of frightening new bills take aim at all sorts of civil liberties under the guise of stopping sexual exploitation.
Jeff Sessions Says Social Media, Encrypted Apps Hamper War on 'Modern Slavery'
These are the tools of pornographers, "sextortionists," and human traffickers, Sessions told a police conference this week.
'Operation Big Bad John' Used 75 Cops, Six Federal Agencies to Catch 13 Sex Buyers
Naturally, they're portraying it as a success.
Alaska Cops Fight for the Right to Sexually Exploit Prostitution Suspects
New laws are under debate, but the practice is more common than you think.
Judge Orders Oakland Cop to Trial; Says He Was 'Like a Pimp' to Exploited Teen
Former Oakland cop Brian Bunton is one of dozens of area police officers who've been implicated in the sexual exploitation of "Celeste Guap."
996 Sex Workers Busted in FBI's Last 'Operation Cross Country,' Says Comey
That's 332 times as many sex workers arrested in the stings as people indicted on federal charges involving a minor.
