Screening of American Courtesans on February 15 at Goldtown Theater in Juneau, Alaska

Lunch & Learn with Alexandra Lutnkick, author of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking on February 16

ExpandingProtections2-23-17

Statewide Voter Survey Results

Media Advisory: Survey

Media Advisory: February 16 Lunch & Learn

Media Advisory: February 25 Screening of American Courtesans

The International Day to End Violence is held on the day that the Green River Killer was caught and confessed to killing dozens of sex workers. He said he thought he could kill as many of us as he wanted to, because nobody cares about sex workers. December 17th is our day to come together as a community and say that we DO care about sex workers and people shouldn’t kill us.

This year’s candlelight vigil will memorialize Jackie Goodwin, who was murdered here in Anchorage this year, and the 10 missing and murdered Anchorage sex workers who’s cases still remain unsolved.

Today, the Community United For Safety and Protection (CUSP) would like to commend Chris Sowa, podcaster of Sex With Strangers, for his time and attention in addressing the false and misleading narrative of sex trafficking that leads to incalculable harm to sex trafficking victims in Episode 26: Fighting the Trafficking Narrative from Alaska to Rhode Island.

Sowa’s top to bottom review of the sex trafficking narrative as it’s been sold to the American public as well as across the globe dispels false and misleading information. The two hour epically reported in depth show features interviews with researchers and current and former sex workers and sex trafficking victims across the nation, including following Maxine Doogan and Terra Burns lobbying for anti-violence legislation in Juneau. A year in the making, the podcast features interviews of researchers shows how those in their profession routinely use outrageous research methodology and pre-disposed agendas to fabricate untruths used by religious and “radical feminist” lobbies to pass overbroad, poorly worded legislation like Alaska’s 2012 sex trafficking law. The show follows sex workers fighting against bad legislation which harm them even though it is typically crafted in their name. Alaskan activists and the recently enacted Senate Bill 91 are featured prominantly in this internationally distributed show. Sex With Strangers can be found on most podcast platforms and at http://sexwithstrangersshow.com

The passage of Senate Bill 91 was a step towards enfranchising people in the sex trade into Alaska’s promise of equal protection under the law for all.

The omnibus crime bill contained language that allows a victim or witness to report some violent felonies to the police without being charged with prostitution under Alaska state law. This much needed fix will incentivize reporting and investigation of serious crimes and help police get dangerous predators off the streets instead of arresting us for trying to report.

“Senate Bill 91 took an important step towards clarifying the difference between prostitution and sex trafficking, closing loopholes that allowed law enforcement to spend Alaska’s finite resources arresting and charging folks for sex trafficking themselves”, said Maxine Doogan. “The threat of being convicted of felony charges had become a barrier preventing witnesses and victims from reporting serious crimes for fear of being charged with trafficking ourselves”.

It’s historic that Alaska lawmakers recognized the overbroad nature of the 2012 law and when presented with evidence of the unintended consequences moved quickly to correct it.

“While Senate Bill 91 altered the state’s prostitution statute to offer situational immunity for victims or witnesses reporting some violent felonies, the Municipality of Anchorage’s prostitution code can still be used against victims who are reporting serious crimes like sex trafficking,” said Terra Burns. Sex workers, sex trafficking victims, and advocates are calling on the Municipality to join the state in allowing victims and witnesses to report without being charged with practicing prostitution under Anchorage’s Municipal code.

In 2012 Alaska passed a new sex trafficking law that redefined most things prostitutes do as sex trafficking. The second person to be charged under it was an independent adult sex worker who was charged with trafficking in the fourth degree: “aiding or facilitating” her own prostitution. Shortly after that CUSP advocates tried to help report a man to the police who was threatening Fairbanks sex workers with arrest if they did not pay him $1000, but police and an Assistant Attorney General could or would not give a victim who wanted to make a report immunity from being charged with trafficking herself.

Her lawyer explained the situation.

Things that were defined as sex trafficking under the 2012 trafficking law included aiding or facilitating prostitution (including your own, and potentially including harm reduction workers who provide condoms) and having a place of prostitution, including your own prostitution. The first and fourth cases to be charged under the sex trafficking law were against sex workers who were accused of sharing space and information about clients, something that sex workers do to increase their safety. Sex workers who became victims of violent crime became even more reluctant to report it to the police when they had been sharing a hotel room or information with other sex workers, out of fear of being charged with trafficking each other.

A solution was proposed in House Bill 349 and then as an amendment that became Sections 37-40 of Senate Bill 91. When Governor Walker signed SB91 yesterday this section became law, but he immediately put removing sections 39-40 on the agenda for special session, citing concern from a religious group that these sections essentially decriminalized sex trafficking.

Here is the language that was added:

10 (c) A person does not institute, aid, or facilitate prostitution if the person
11 (1) engages in prostitution in violation of AS 11.66.100(a) in a location
12 even if that location is shared with another person; and
13 (2) has not induced or caused another person in that location to engage
14 in prostitution.
(Read the whole bill here: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Text/29?Hsid=SB0091Z)

This was added to the third and fourth degrees of trafficking (aiding/facilitating and having a place of prostitution) but was not added to trafficking in the second degree (having a prostitution enterprise) or the first degree (forcing people into prostitution or involving minors).

Removing these sections would once again leave sex workers and sex trafficking victims unable to report violent crimes out of fear of being charged with trafficking themselves or each other.

Yesterday Governor Walker signed Senate Bill 91, which included a section providing situational immunity for who are making a good faith report that they were a victim or witness of a list of several crimes.

We expect this to increase reporting of crimes like robbery, assault, and sex trafficking and ultimately improve public safety. It is our hope that this will also lead to the resolution of one or some of the 11 currently unsolved murder, missing person, and suspicious death cases of sex workers in Anchorage.

Here is the specific wording of Section 36:

Sec. 36. AS 11.66.100 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
05 (e) A person may not be prosecuted under (a)(1) of this section if the
06 (1) person witnessed or was a victim of, and reported to law
07 enforcement in good faith, one or more of the following crimes:
08 (A) murder in the first degree under AS 11.41.100;
09 (B) murder in the second degree under AS 11.41.110;
10 (C) manslaughter under AS 11.41.120;
11 (D) criminally negligent homicide under AS 11.41.130;
12 (E) assault in the first degree under AS 11.41.200;
13 (F) assault in the second degree under AS 11.41.210;
14 (G) assault in the third degree under AS 11.41.220;
15 (H) assault in the fourth degree under AS 11.41.230;
16 (I) sexual assault in the first degree under AS 11.41.410;
17 (J) sexual assault in the second degree under AS 11.41.420;
18 (K) sexual assault in the third degree under AS 11.41.425;
19 (L) sexual assault in the fourth degree under AS 11.41.427;
20 (M) sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree under
21 AS 11.41.434;
22 (N) sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree under
23 AS 11.41.436;
24 (O) sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree under
25 AS 11.41.438;
26 (P) sexual abuse of a minor in the fourth degree under
27 AS 11.41.440;
28 (Q) robbery in the first degree under AS 11.41.500;
29 (R) robbery in the second degree under AS 11.41.510;
30 (S) extortion under AS 11.41.520;
31 (T) coercion under AS 11.41.530;
01 (U) distribution of child pornography under AS 11.61.125;
02 (V) possession of child pornography under AS 11.61.127;
03 (W) sex trafficking in the first degree under AS 11.66.110;
04 (X) sex trafficking in the second degree under AS 11.66.120;
05 (Y) sex trafficking in the third degree under AS 11.66.130; or
06 (Z) sex trafficking in the fourth degree under AS 11.66.135;
07 (2) evidence supporting the prosecution under (a)(1) of this section
08 was obtained or discovered as a result of the person reporting the crime to law
09 enforcement; and
10 (3) person cooperated with law enforcement personnel.

We need your help to get SB21 passed!

Senate Bill 21 would allow people in Alaska’s sex trades who are the victims or witnesses of crimes like murder, sex trafficking, or assault, to make reports to the police without being charged with prostitution.  SB 21 is an important step towards enfranchising members of our community into Alaska’s promise of equal protection under the law for everybody and improving public safety by addressing violent criminals who start out by preying on our population.

Currently SB21 is still awaiting scheduling in the Senate Judiciary committee.  You can email Senator.Lesil.McGuire@akleg.gov  or call  (907)-465-2995 and tell her to schedule SB21 for the Senate Judiciary right away!  Tell her the safety of marginalized Alaskans must not be left behind!

You can also email all of the politicians who will be hearing about this bill soon – their email addresses are at the bottom for  you to copy and paste easily.  Tell them:

– It is not consistent with our Alaskan values to allow criminals to target our most vulnerable community members with impunity.

– Please add extortion, coercion, robbery, sexual assault of a minor, and possession or production of child pornography to the list of crimes that victims or witnesses could report without being charged with prostitution.

– Please vote yes on SB21!!!!

Send your emails to the bill sponsor, Senator Gardner, and to us so we can add them to our packet of support:

Senator.Berta.Gardner@akleg.gov

sextraffickingalaska@gmail.com

Also send your emails to members of the Senate and House judiciary committees: