Tag Archives: sex workers

Sex Work Policy – Participatory Action Research By and For Sex Workers and Sex Trafficking Survivors

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Book Review: Sex Work Policy: Participatory Action Research By Sex Worker and Sex Trafficking Survivors by Amber Batts

This book is an easy read and is, simply put, devourable.

It explains complex policies and issues in simple language, helping people without a policy background understand what sex workers are going through and what can be done to improve our lives. With its combination of research, personal stories, and clear policy recommendations, Sex Work Policy is a powerful tool for anyone looking to learn more about sex work in the U.S. or Alaska specifically.

Sex Work Policy shares the experiences of people working in the sex industry and how laws and policies affect their lives. Unlike many other books that talk about sex workers, this one is written by sex workers, using participatory action research (PAR) to put sex worker voices front and center. 

This makes it a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the real impact of policies on sex workers’ health, safety, and working conditions.

One standout chapter is People in Alaska’s Sex Trade – Their Lived Experiences and Policy Recommendations written by someone I am grateful to know and call a friend, Tara Burns. 

Tara Burns, MA, is an Alaskan sex worker, sex trafficking survivor, and researcher. She was the first registered lobbyist in the State of Alaska to lobby for the rights of sex workers. She is a member of Community United for Safety and Protection (CUSP) and has been the research and policy director for COYOTE RI since 2020. In the People in Alaska’s Sex Trade chapter, she shares important findings from her research in Alaska. She covers the methods used, survey results, and demographics of participants, giving a clear picture of what sex trafficking and the force of the law look like in our state. Her firsthand accounts from sex workers in Alaska show how current state and federal sex trafficking laws affect the lives of people in the sex trade here in our state. Tara also provides a summary of policy recommendations to make things better for people in Alaska’s sex industry.

Now available on Amazon!

The book contains 13 chapters, each addressing different aspects of sex work policy in the U.S., Rhode Island (RI), and Alaska (AK). These chapters cover a myriad of interesting and important topics such as Assessing Public Services, Policing Modern Day Slavery in RI, After FOSTA, Sexual Health. Each one dives deep into the realities of how sex workers are impacted by current policies and offers ideas for change.

The chapter on sexual health brings up key points about how policy can better support the health of those in the industry, which is a crucial but often ignored aspect of sex work.

In findings from Chapter 7: US, RI and AK Surveys: Trafficking Exploitation Violence and Arrest, surveys reported higher rates of violence within the sex industry, drawing data from three surveys; the US survey; the Rhode Island survey; and the Alaska survey. 

Comparing responses of those who’ve been victimized within the industry to the larger group of sex workers helps to understand how current policies serve (harm) the most vulnerable and victimized sex workers. 

It is an eye opening chapter, the numbers reporting violence – 74% of Alaskan participants reporting being the victim or witness of a crime within the industry – that they did not report. This has recommendations for the police as well as clearly defined policy insights. Public Safety could be greatly improved by a policy requiring police to take reports from sex workers and prohibiting them from arresting or threatening to arrest sex workers who are making reports. Things that will keep everyone in our community safe.

Sex Work Policy is an essential resource. It’s written by sex workers for sex workers, providing important insights and recommendations on how laws can be improved. Whether you’re interested in U.S. sex work policies or the specific experiences of those in Alaska, this book is both informative and easy to understand.

This book isn’t just about what’s wrong with current laws, it’s about how things can be made better, based on real experiences. The participatory action research approach gives people in the sex industry a platform to talk about what’s really happening, which is rare in policy discussions.

Essential reading for activists, policymakers, and anyone who cares about human rights.

Now available on Amazon

IMMUNITY CATCHES KILLERS

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In Alaska, immunity can catch killers
Amber Nickerson, a member of CUSP, wrote this about the immunity to report after attending the Brian Steven Smith trial in Anchorage, Alaska Feb. 2024.

I have been a sex worker in Alaska for 20 years. I started in 2004, leaving an abusive marriage because I could support myself and my two kids from my work. I have experienced stigma, shame and criminal charges due to being a sex worker.

My first day attending Brian Steven Smith’s trial was on Valentine’s Day. A fitting day, the five-year anniversary of when Tracy Lynn Day, an Indigenous woman from Juneau and my longtime best friend, became missing. I went to the trial to show support to the family of other women, who Smith was accused of murdering, and to witness the ending of a predator. I wanted to find the courageous woman that came forward and initiated the investigation, a woman the media described as a “convicted prostitute.”  When the media describes a person like this it dehumanizes and promotes stigma, and this makes sex workers easy prey for men like Smith.

Brian Steven Smith’s trial was for the murders of Kathleen Jo Henry and Veronica Abouchuk, two homeless Alaska Native women he picked up for sex. He regularly picked up sex workers. Smith had picked up Valerie Casler, a sex worker, and she stole his phone. She found images and video of the murder of Kathleen Jo Henry, in all of its horror, on that phone. 

Fearful of arrest, she transferred the videos to an SD card and contacted the Anchorage Police Department on Sept. 30, 2019, stating she had found the SD card in the parking lot. She was afraid of being arrested for theft of Smith’s phone and of prostitution. Both misdemeanors. 

She was afraid of being arrested for a moral crime when she had information about a horrific murder. 

The videos of the torture and murder initiated an investigation from APD. Officers recognized Smith’s accent from a prior investigation, when a woman named Alicia Youngblood had contacted the police in 2018 regarding Smith. 

Alicia Youngblood had a brief previous relationship with Smith and had contacted police in 2018 after he had made comments to her about killing a woman. Not much is mentioned regarding that investigation. We were told that Youngblood had testified for the grand jury in this trial, but sadly in July of 2021 she died.

Casler didn’t know that sex workers have immunity from prostitution charges when reporting heinous crimes, thanks to the work and effort of Community United for Safety and Protection addressing the issue and getting the prostitution statute modified in 2016 as part of SB91. Encouraging victims and witnesses to come forward and report violent predators in our communities is important. Letting the public know this is even a viable option is part of stopping serial killers like Brian Steven Smith. 

Clients of sex workers don’t have the same immunity from prostitution charges to report heinous crimes. Clients are first responders in cases of actual sex trafficking and can be the only people a trafficking victim is ever alone with to confide in, but they risk an embarrassing charge and news coverage that could have long-term effects on their careers and families if they report crimes like sex trafficking or murder. This year in House Bill 265, legislators are considering modifying the immunity section of the prostitution statute and they could choose to add clients into its protections. 

If more people knew that sex workers could report crimes without fear of legal repercussions it could answer lingering questions left after Smith’s trial. 

For example, there was unknown female DNA found on the tailgate of Smith’s Ford Ranger. An FBI DNA forensic examiner from Quantico testified that DNA evidence ruled out Veronica Abouchek and Kathleen Jo Henry. Swab samples from Stephanie Bissland, Smith’s wife, were sampled, compared and excluded. The female DNA was possibly from another victim. 

On Feb. 22, 2024, the jury deliberated for close to two hours and came back with their verdict. Smith was found guilty on all 14 counts, including an aggravator that Smith subjected Kathleen Jo Henry to substantial physical torture. Fortunately, Casler’s fear of police and the resulting chain of custody of the videos was only a small hiccup the defense focused on. 

I met up with Valerie Casler the day after. It turns out, Feb. 22 was her birthday. When I told her of the verdict she looked at me and smiled. “The DA said they would call me, I didn’t know!” she laughed, nodding her head.

“I’d do it again, ‘cause those ladies needed to cross over and their souls make it to heaven,” she said. 

Valerie knows she saved lives. She knows she stopped a serial killer from killing more Alaska Native women and sex workers. 

Sentencing is set for July.