Activists want Miami-Dade County to have a sex talk

A coalition of sex worker rights activists is pushing for Miami-Dade County to decriminalize sex work.

Driving the news: About 100 sex workers and supporters marched through South Beach last weekend as part of community organization Decrim 305’s third annual “Slut Walk” to demand legal protections for sex work.

Why it matters: Organizers hope to bring more visibility to the struggles and violence that sex workers face — and to create a support network for those working in the city.

• “In Miami, you’re on your own,” Mistress Mai, a sex worker who founded the group in 2020, told Axios.

The big picture: The Miami group is part of a nationwide movement to decriminalize sex work that’s been gaining steam in recent years. In the U.S., several states, including New York, Massachusetts and Maine, have proposed partial decriminalization legislation.

• The Manhattan district attorney’s office announced last year that it would stop prosecuting sex work, joining a number of other jurisdictions that refuse to do so.

Between the lines: Research suggests that the criminalization of sex work increases the risk of violence and makes workers less likely to report violent crime to authorities, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

• The group Human Rights Watch argues, “Criminalizing adult, voluntary, and consensual sex — including the commercial exchange of sexual services — is incompatible with the human right to personal autonomy and privacy.”

Zoom in: Here in Miami, decriminalization is a long way off, according to Mai. Because of the stigma around sex work, politicians don’t want to be associated with the industry, Mai said, adding that even progressive organizations distance themselves from the group.

• That’s why changing public opinion through events like the “Slut Walk” is important, Mai said.

What they’re saying: “We have the right use our bodies any way we choose, including selling sex,” Mai said. “It’s the laws and the police that need to change — not us.”

• Mai got into sex work because they needed to move in a pinch and couldn’t wait weeks for a paycheck.
• “I’ve had normal jobs,” Mai said. “But sex work has always been the thing to get me over the poverty line.”

Yes, but: With inflation squeezing households, Mai said more people are turning to sex work and adult content sites like OnlyFans for income, crowding the industry.

• Mai said it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find work. Years ago, Mai said sex workers could find clients easily via sex ad websites like Backpage, which was shut down in 2018.
• “Now I go two to three weeks without getting a call. It’s never been so bad,” Mai said.

What’s ahead: Decrim305 is petitioning Miami-Dade County to decriminalize sex work and for the defunding of police task forces that target sex work. A union for sex workers is a long-term goal.