Rhode Island's Prostitution Mistake

by Matt Kelley · 2009-08-14 14:04:00 UTC
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Lawmakers in Rhode Island aiming to "fix a loophole" in the state's prostitution law are missing an important opportunity to address serious problems - and they're punishing exactly the wrong people: the sex workers.

Apparently, R.I. legislators drafted a law in the 1950s with vague language that didn't criminalize prostitution if conducted in private. Lawmakers want to fix that, and there are competing bills in the R.I. House and Senate. The Senate bill seems sensible, with fines for sex workers and establishments on first offense. Here's where it gets ugly. The House bill is tougher, with up to six months in prison - for the sex workers - on first offense. And Gov. Don Carcieri supports the House bill, calling the Senate version "watered down."

This is a big mistake. Punishing sex workers rather than providing services continues the cycle of poverty. I support legalized prostitution, as I've written before, but I don't expect Rhode Island to take it that far this month or this year. I do hope, however, that all lawmakers will learn to support policies that provide services and alternatives to incarceration rather than prison time. If anybody should be immune from punishment, especially on first offense, it's the sex workers.

Rhode Island should focus on stemming human trafficking and stop worrying about putting sex workers in prison.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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