January 30, 2020

People who sell sex often do so out of desperation or for survival. That includes victims of trafficking. Yet our city’s criminal justice system ignores these facts and continues to target sellers for punishment while ignoring sex buyers and traffickers who cause immense harm.

Our work with victims of sexual exploitation has provided us with countless examples of how Chicago fails them. We know our city can do better so we spent 18 months researching and observing how our criminal justice system currently works. We interviewed people involved in the process, including women who were arrested for prostitution, and followed cases from police intervention through criminal case disposition. Our findings, along with recommendations for our city’s leadership, are now available in the “Policing and Enforcement of Prostitution Laws in Chicago” report.

WHAT WE FOUND

POLICE DISPROPORTIONATELY AND UNJUSTLY TARGET PEOPLE FOR SELLING SEX

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) continues to ticket, arrest and re-arrest people for selling sex, even though sellers are often victims themselves. In a national survey, more than 90% of trafficking survivors indicated that they’d been arrested at least once. More than 40% had been arrested more than 9 times. CPD special orders rightfully recognize that officers will likely encounter sex trafficking victims while policing prostitution but their practices routinely disregard this acknowledgment. Nearly all arrests/tickets for prostitution in Chicago are for selling. Officers’ actions also disregard Illinois laws that encourage local law enforcement to focus on sex buyers and traffickers.

WOMEN IN THE SEX TRADE ARE ROUTINELY DEGRADED BY POLICE

All the women CAASE interviewed shared experiences of being mistreated and dehumanized by police. Many people who sell sex are victims of crime themselves yet they deal with derogatory comments and attitudes and even rape by officers. Tragically, this is in line with existing research. One Chicago-based study found that 24% of women who stated they were raped while selling sex on the streets said a police officer was the perpetrator. 

INTERVENTION COURT IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION – BUT NOT A SOLUTION

After being issued a ticket or a state misdemeanor charge for selling sex, the matter often goes through a deferred prosecution court. It allows defendants to have the charges against them dropped if they complete a set of goals. Participants describe the court as a positive experience because it is less adversarial in comparison to a typical courtroom, and it offers services. But accessing help should not require that people be arrested or ticketed first.

Additionally, all the participants who spoke to CAASE had prior interactions with the criminal legal system. Even if their current charge is dropped, they are burdened with past criminal records that make it difficult to find stable housing, safe employment, and exit the sex trade. 

WHAT WE CAN DO 

To tackle the harms of the sex trade, we need to recognize and respond to the vulnerability and victimization of most people who sell sex. They are often doing so out of desperation—living on the margins and in poverty. Criminalizing them is cruel. Instead, we must offer support, including the removal of prostitution-related offenses from their records so they have more opportunities outside of the sex trade.

Our community must better understand the broad overlap between the sex trade and sexual exploitation to help focus law enforcement efforts on sex traffickers and buyers. That will require a shift in the culture at CPD to one of compassion and dignity towards people they interact with, including those that sell sex. It demands that they hold their ranks accountable for negativity, harassment, or abuse.

NEXT STEPS

Based on these findings and more, CAASE has highlighted opportunities for the Mayor’s Office, CPD, and City Council to improve Chicago’s response to the sex trade. The report provides concrete recommendations and advocates for practices that help marginalized people. It comes at a moment that feels particularly hopeful because Chicago is at a crossroads for change.

We have a new mayor, Lori Lightfoot, who is prioritizing good government practices and investing in marginalized neighborhoods to improve the well-being of the city’s most impoverished and oppressed residents. We have a state’s attorney, Kim Foxx, who is prioritizing criminal justice reform, and undoing inequities like racism and poverty perpetuated in the criminal justice system. We will soon have a new Chicago police superintendent tasked with leading a department undergoing mandatory reforms after numerous incidents of civil rights violations and misconduct. Reforming how our community responds to people selling sex, and how we treat them, must be included within this larger commitment from our leaders to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people in our community.

We hope you will join us in pressing our community to address the inequality and harm inherent in the sex trade. Be sure to follow @theCAASE on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to stay up to date on advocacy opportunities.