Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry, generating about $150 billion in illegal profit annually.

“The system of trafficking does not discriminate on race, gender or class. I want folks to know that anybody can be affected,” Thompson said.

As Heuermann’s next court date on July 30 approaches—coinciding with the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons—media coverage will intensify. Yet almost all reporting ignores one key fact: Heuermann is a serial sex buyer who selected his victims carefully. They were women exploited in the sex trade, women with absence of choices, bought and sold online and off, and stigmatized by society.

Decriminalization grows demand and expands markets. LGBTQ youth are already twice as likely to be sex trafficked as their non-LGBTQ peers. In a fully decriminalized world, pimps and traffickers will capitalize on this increased demand, ramping up their recruiting outside mental health treatment centers, youth homeless shelters, and wherever else vulnerable people congregate.

The Sex Trade Survivors Justice and Equality Act (STSJEA), introduced by Democratic Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter, would decriminalize prostitution and automatically expunge all prior convictions for prostitution. "New York needs a nuanced and fact-based approach to ending the sex trade while uplifting and supporting survivors," said bill co-sponsor, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, one of dozens of supporters who rallied in support of the bill at the New York State Capitol in Albany on Tuesday, May 14.

The Equality Mode law decriminalizes the people who are exploited, but holds accountable the people who profit off of others' misery. Many today would like to pretend that the sex trade is some kind of reasonable, normal job option for young people. We often hear “sex work is work,” and other trendy ways to sanitize sexual exploitation. But if we continue to do this, more will experience the horror that I did, and more children will be bought and sold.

The Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act would tamp down demand for sex buying and connect victims with services.

Sex trafficking survivor Melanie Thompson and Cook County, Ill. Sheriff Thomas Dart discuss their opposition to the full decriminalization of sex work on Meet the Press Reports.

There’s an effort underway to fully decriminalize the sex trade in the U.S. It's horrifying many who know that life first hand. "This idea that it's her body, her choice and she has power and autonomy in the sex trade is a fallacy," says Melanie Thompson with the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women.

"For law enforcement to partner with us and say we agree, we're standing in solidarity, we want to convey this message that we recognize that the primary prevention here is to go after the demand, the men who are fueling the sex trade, is so inspiring," said Ane Mathieson of Sanctuary for Families.

Police say they've come to see prostitution in this area as a supply and demand problem that fuels violent crime.

The term “sex work” whitewashes the economic constraints, family ruptures and often sordid circumstances that drive many women to sell themselves. It flips the nature of the transaction in question: It enables sex buyers to justify their role, allowing the purchase of women’s bodies for their own sexual pleasure and violent urges to feel as lightly transactional as the purchase of packaged meat from the supermarket.

Arrests for prostitution-related offenses have dropped dramatically in New York City in recent years as the movement to decriminalize the sex trade has gained a foothold in local politics. But a coalition of women’s rights and anti-trafficking groups said on Tuesday that the shift away from criminalization had gone too far.

Survivors of sex trafficking are calling for action after parts of the boroughs are turning into brothels

These leaders say they've seen a dramatic rise in sex trafficking over the last couple of years, and that it affects every demographic group, and carries with it life and death risks.

Big Apple pols and prosecutors are blowing it when it comes to stemming the city’s booming sex trade — letting pimps and “johns” off the hook while picking on vulnerable sex workers, anti-trafficking advocates charged Tuesday.

Melanie, now 27, warns that the result of full decriminalization, including allowing pimps and brothels, would be more trafficking of victims who are overwhelmingly Black and brown, or coming out of foster care, or L.G.B.T.Q. youth or others who are marginalized.

Buying sex will remain illegal in the state, as communities nationally reconsider how best to legislate prostitution

As state legislators representing districts in Maine, Massachusetts, and New York, we believe it is the job of government to aid and protect vulnerable and marginalized people against the systems of exploitation that seek to harm and take advantage of them. That is why we support a policy of partial decriminalization, also known as the Equality Model or the Nordic Model.

On Tuesday, May 10th, 2022, Senator Liz Krueger, Assembly Member Pamela Hunter and allies held a press conference in support of the Sex Trade Survivors Justice and Equality Act. This legislation would be an additional tool to prevent sex trafficking in New York.

Indoor prostitution was legal in Rhode Island for decades, and survivors say the state was a hub for exploitation, trafficking and abuse. Now, out-of-state non-profits are lobbying to decriminalize or even legalize commercial sex -- and some local politicians are listening.

It is welcome news that New York is now considering the Sex Trade Survivors Justice and Equality Act, a bill to decriminalize people in prostitution. Sponsored by Sen. Liz Kreuger and Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter, this law reform is long overdue.

The New Yorkers for the Equality Model, a survivor-led alliance of advocates, sex trafficking and prostitution survivors, presents this critique of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)’s research brief entitled “Is Sex Work Decriminalization The
Answer? What The Research Tells Us.”

There is widespread agreement about the need to avoid criminalizing victims of sex trafficking, but how should New York handle the other players involved in the sex trade, including adults who aren’t coerced into sex work or the New Yorkers who pay for sex? For answers we turned to Melanie Thompson of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and Alexi Meyers of Sanctuary for Families, who are pushing legislation that would decriminalize sex work, while still preventing it from becoming a legal profession.

Dear John Oliver,

You once said, “When you’re dealing with serious subjects, there is a pressure to be absolutely sure you know what you’re doing.” Unfortunately, when it comes to your recent “Last Week Tonight” segment on the sex trade — one in which you seemed to welcome turning the Big Apple into a Red Light District — you missed this mark by a mile.

"The path we must pave for truth and reconciliation lies not in calling for regressive laws that sentence the most vulnerable among us to the sex trade," writes Taina Bien-Aimé.

Leftwing groups support a libertarian, free-market approach, while some sex trafficking survivors support a more cautious, regulated approach

The debate over different approaches to decriminalisation

There are two competing bills in New York: One would punish pimps and customers, while the other would decriminalize the entire trade.

Brooklyn’s open-air prostitution market was up and running over the weekend — with the only deterrence some thunderstorms that blew through Saturday into early Sunday as law enforcement continued to largely sit back and observe the brazen enterprise.

"We celebrate the policy of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., of supporting survivors and declining to prosecute those bought in the sex trade," writes WorldWe Director and NYFEM member Lauren Hersh.

Current laws in our state are not as effective, trauma-informed or victim-centered as they must to protect those at risk and help those exploited in the sex trade, writes NYFEM Coalition Member Cristian Eduardo.

One bill hopes to repeal the crime of selling sex and expand social services; the other would legalize the entire sex trade.

Ending criminal penalties for sex workers is long overdue, but it’s crucial to guard against exploitation as well.

The Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act, introduced by Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, with input from survivors and their advocates, would decriminalize prostitution in New York while holding pimps, sex traffickers and buyers accountable.

Prostitution will be decriminalized in New York state if a bill proposed by State Sen. Liz Krueger becomes law. Her proposal was hailed by Melanie Thompson, a survivor of sex trafficking and NY4EM member.

New Yorkers for the Equality Model introduces a new bill that would decriminalize sex work in New York — while still holding pimps and buyers accountable.

NYFEM members Rebecca Zipkin & Sonia Ossorio discuss the dangers of decriminalizing the sex trade in New York City.

Ms. reporter Corinne Ahrens sat down with actor-activist Vanessa Marano to unpack what the sisters are doing to re-center survivors’ stories, as well as acknowledging the work that still desperately needs to be done.

The child sex trade is a global crisis. Far-right conspiracy theorists are harassing, distracting and intimidating the organizations fighting to end it.

In a wide-ranging phone interview, Bien-Aimé talks with TMS on topics related to her work, from QAnon and the impact of conspiracy theories on the cause, to the way sexual exploitation and its ripple effects are often misunderstood by society.

Fans of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory are clogging anti-trafficking hotlines, infiltrating Facebook groups and raising false fears about child exploitation.

Alexi Ashe Meyers, human rights attorney, and Melanie Thompson, a speaker and activist in ending global sex and human trafficking, discuss the untold stories of trafficking victims and what’s being done today to stop this modern-day slavery.

14 NYC-based groups, mostly direct service providers, survivor-led groups, and women’s rights organizations, challenged the MTA for accepting advertising that violates its own internal rules prohibiting the promotion of illegal goods and activities, political messages or “sexually oriented business.”

The MTA displayed a series of advertisements promoting a “Sex Workers Pop-up” exhibit — breaking their own rules against “sexually oriented” ads and angering sex trafficking survivors who said they’re green-lighting an industry that’s inherently harmful.

A group is pushing to decriminalize buying and selling sex and managing people for prostitution, but others in the sex trade community are saying it’s a terrible idea. The issue has made its way to the 2020 campaign trail. NBC senior national correspondent Kate Snow reports on TODAY.

Opponents of the decriminalization of the adult sex trade gathered to celebrate the launch of a new coalition and legislative campaign they say will protect vulnerable people in the sex trades and hold those who purchase sex and human traffickers to account.

Legalizing prostitution legalizes pimping and sex buying, too. There is a better way.

The gang tackles the complicated questions around sex trafficking and the legalization of prostitution. They talk about the Equality Model with survivors. And everyone holds their breath while Keith speaks.

Alexi sits down with Sophia to discuss the bills to decriminalize prostitution which are popping up throughout the country, explain the Equality Model and why it's a better solution to support people in the sex trade, and share more insight.

Trafficking survivors spoke at an event in Manhattan where they detailed the “horrific” experience of being sold across the country, including in New York, and how the Big Apple is destined to be the next prostitution “hub” if the act is legalized.

Alexi Ashe Meyers chats “Lobby Baby” and the Equality Model

Activists and survivors of sex trafficking are calling on 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to clarify their potential support for decriminalizing sex work, arguing that across-the-board policies could have unintended consequences.

OPINION: Our nation’s capital is on the brink of giving sexual predators more power, stamping legal some of the most misogynistic, exploitative conduct. And one thing’s for sure, this bill won’t keep anyone healthy or safe.

As bills to decriminalize prostitution continue popping up across the country, these advocates say there’s a better way to support people in the sex trade.

Editorial Board: Decriminalizing prostitution has become a priority for the progressive movement, and the movement is slowly picking up steam across the country. But council members would do well to look beyond the progressive label that has been attached to decriminalization.

Is it acceptable to residents of the District that their government might decriminalize the sale of the bodies of women and men, many of them transgender, to satisfy male desires?

It’s necessary and long overdue to decriminalize individuals in the sex trade who represent some of the most marginalized members of our community. But offering legal protection to those who exploit them is a misguided and dangerous policy that threatens to turn the District into a sex tourist destination and harm the very communities the bill aims to protect.

The DC Council is considering a bill that would decriminalize the commercial sex trade in the District, enabling the abuse and trauma of more young women and girls.

Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, discusses the recent arrest of Jeffrey Epstein and how it is related to her efforts to end sexual trafficking.

Rebecca Zipkin, attorney at Sanctuary for Families and former prosecutor in Brooklyn prosecuting cases of sex trafficking and sex crimes, and Taina Bien Aime, the executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), argue that full decriminalization will lead to the flourishing of the sex trade, often at the expense of the workers themselves.

Epstein’s crimes are sweeping and flagrant, but not drastically different from what commercial sexual exploitation looks like every single day in cities across America.

An open letter from Survivors of Prostitution and Trafficking

Advocates in New York are pushing for the full decriminalization of prostitution. If successful, people would no longer be arrested or prosecuted for selling, purchasing or facilitating (pimping) the sale of sex.