Current Events > Let's see how the government's crackdown on sex work has turned out

(+) Yeah! (+)

Poorly for both police and sex workers!
https://www.theindychannel.com/longform/running-blind-impd-arrests-first-suspected-pimp-in-7-months

Kings arrest was the first in Indianapolis on a charge of promoting prostitution since November (by comparison, a search of IMPD records just for 2018 turned up 48 prostitution reports). The cases, according to Sgt. John Daggy, an undercover officer with IMPDs vice unit, have just dried up.

The reason for that is pretty simple: the feds closed polices best source of leads, the online personals site Backpage, earlier this year.

Weve been a little bit blinded lately because they shut Backpage down, Daggy said. I get the reasoning behind it, and the ethics behind it, however, it has blinded us. We used to look at Backpage as a trap for human traffickers and pimps.

U.S. authorities seized Backpage, which has been accused of facilitating human trafficking and prostitution, in April. Legislation signed by President Donald Trump in April known as SESTA-FOSTA (Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) made it illegal to knowingly assist, facilitate or support sex trafficking and removed immunity for civil liability that online services previously had. The result has been that other sites like Backpage, including Craigslists personals section, have gone dark.

The legislation was hailed as a win by groups that fight sex trafficking, particularly of minors. But Daggy says it also removed one of the best tools police had for finding trafficking cases.

With Backpage, we would subpoena the ads and it would tell a lot of the story, Daggy said. Also, with the ads we would catch our victim at a hotel room, which would give us a crime scene. Theres a ton of evidence at a crime scene. Now, since [Backpage] has gone down, were getting late reports of them and we dont have much to go by.
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We assume its a great thing that Backpage closed down, Stefanie Jeffers said. And it is, because its horrible that Backpage existed and so much trafficking occurred through the users of Backpage. But I do think that it comes with its dangers too.

Jeffers, the founder of the nonprofit Grit Into Grace, works with women who are engaged in street prostitution in Indianapolis to help them get out of the life. She says Backpages closure came as a shock to the women she talked to.

The couple of women that Ive talked to have said, Well now were going to have to go out on the streets, and we havent been on the streets in years, Jeffers said.

For those who have a pimp and many women working in prostitution dont the loss of Backpage doesnt mean they get a pass on bringing in money.

But especially if they have a pimp, then that becomes extremely dangerous for them, Jeffers said.

The streets come with their own set of challenges. Daggy says he hasnt seen a street pimp since he was a uniformed officer working the Near Eastside in the 90s. Over there, where IMPD works the bulk of its prostitution cases every year, addiction drives the sex trade, not pimps.

The street girls, theyre mostly focused on just getting enough money for their next fix, Daggy said. Theyre almost, I would say 99 percent of those girls are addicted to opiates or meth. I would say one I know of is just an alcoholic. We just dont see not that it doesnt happen, but we just dont see pimps on the street like you do in the shows. Theyre hiding in cyberspace and at the hotels.

Backpage was shut down while one woman Jeffers works with was being held at the Marion County Jail. Jeffers said the closure wasnt welcome news.

It was definitely a shock to the women I know, and its definitely going to change things for them, she said. Pimps are still going to make their money, traffickers are still going to make their money, its just going to change things for the women. And I wouldnt assume for the better.

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who cares
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"Sex work" is one of the dumbest PC terms. Just call what it is, prostitution.
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PanzerElite posted...

"Sex work" is one of the dumbest PC terms. Just call what it is, prostitution.

Ah yes, the most important point to note here is indeed semantics. Let's focus on that.
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Ah
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legalize and tax prostitution
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REMercsChamp posted...

who cares

Oh yes, who cares about the safety of women and men forced into prostitution?
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PanzerElite posted...

"Sex work" is one of the dumbest PC terms. Just call what it is, prostitution.

I think it's just a general term that encompasses things other than prostitution too
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Absolutely no one saw this coming. Not one single person.
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https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/400-current-events/76511219

God bless Amerika
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It's too bad that police time and resources are being used up on something as trivial as consensual sex.
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Drug addicts cant easily get there next fix noe waaaaaaaaasaah.
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ColdOne666 posted...

Drug addicts cant easily get there next fix noe waaaaaaaaasaah.

Most aren't drug addicts. I worked with escorts on and off for 4 years. At worst they were pot heads. I rarely seen one of the girls drunk. Sometimes they would do some blow if the trick wanted them to but a lot wouldn't even do that.

I'm not saying addicts aren't in the industry but at the same time a lot of the addicts work the street in the first place.

The reason a lot of girls hook is because they can make a LOT more money than they could ever dream to make in any other industry.
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SauI_Goodman posted...

It's too bad that police time and resources are being used up on something as trivial as consensual sex.

But we need to protect the women and children!

By putting them at more risk!
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