Because you asked: What I think about San Francisco Proposition K

Proposition K is a measure being voted on tomorrow in San Francisco that would decriminalize prostitution. (Read the measure here.) Legalization and decriminalization of prostitution are complicated issues. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t think that people who know way more than me have all the answers. But... I know this may come as a shock to some of you... I do have an opinion.

Here’s what I think is the most important statement related to prostitution in general, in case some of you lose interest before the end: The choices that we make are limited to the choices that we have. There are some very outspoken supporters of Prop K--and other legalization measures--who are very adamant about the fact that they, and others, have chosen sex work. They believe that prostitution being illegal infringes on their right to make that choice. There’s logic in that argument. But people also have a right to choose NOT to become involved in prostitution or exotic dancing or the porn industry. For many people, and for many reasons, I don’t think that’s the case. Many people enter the sex industry because they feel that they don’t have other choices. It’s not a choice if you “choose” sex work out of desperation, or because you don’t have an alternative. For me, that’s the upside of decriminalizing prostitution: it doesn’t turn desperate people into criminals.

There are some other good things about the measure in theory. It aims to guarantee that crimes committed against prostitutes and other people working in the sex industry are investigated and prosecuted. It also addresses some pretty serious allegations of corruption related to the sex industry as it exists in San Francisco.

That being said, I think there are a lot of problems with Proposition K. The most obvious flaw to me is that it completely eliminates funding for investigating prostitution, since prostitution would no longer be illegal. On the surface, that seems like a good way to save taxpayers money. But a sizable percentage of the funds being used to investigate prostitution are actually going toward identifying people working in the sex industry who have been trafficked. Legalization of prostitution in an area leads to increased human trafficking into the area for the purposes of feuling the growing sex industry. The area becomes a safe haven for prostitution, which means sex tourists begin to multiply, which increases the demand for sexual services, which causes traffickers to bring in more people to meet the demand. And all of that would happen after funds currently being used to address trafficking were eliminated. That seems like a pretty big problem to me.

That’s my biggest concern on a practical level, but the underlying basis of Proposition K doesn’t set well with me, either. Legalization measures are based on the theory that the existence of the sex industry is inevitable; prostitution, after all, is commonly referred to as “the world’s oldest profession.” Legalization is also based on the idea that prostitution is a victimless crime—that buying sex is socially acceptable, and that the act is mutually consensual. Proponents of legalization argue that buying sex is nothing more than a business exchange of money for a service, just like paying for your clothes to be dry cleaned or your car to be washed. I don’t think that’s true, at least not all of the time.


I think that the sex industry objectifies those who work in it, often without their consent and sometimes without their knowledge. So, while I support making the act of selling sexual services something that is legal, I think we need harsh penalties against pimps, traffickers, and those who buy sexual services. Would some people who say they choose to work as prostitutes be angry about this? Yes, because it would make some people less likely to pay for sex. That’s something I’m willing to live with. I’m willing to live with it because I think it’s one step toward our society deciding that turning people into sex objects that we somehow see as less human than we are is unacceptable.

In the meantime, I think we should be working to ensure that those objectified by the sex industry know that there are people who see them as fully human. I think we should be working to change the perceptions of those around us toward them. I think that we should be looking for educational opportunities and economic alternatives for those who no longer want to work in the sex industry, and I think we should be working harder those who are still working in the sex industry with acceptance and open-mindedness rather than judgment based only on stereotypes.

This turned into a rant. But you (well, at least one of you) did, literally, ask for it.

If you’re interested in reading what some people who have thought longer and harder about this than me, investigate the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women’s collection of articles concerning prostitution law reform.