The Philip DeFranco Show - MS 3.19 Here's What Happened When Rhode Island Accidentally Legalized Prostitution

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hello, hello, welcome to your Extra Morning News Show. My name is Philip DeFranco, and today we're gonna be talking about something that is, uh, definitely going to get us demonetized. So shoutout to all of you that support us over at DeFrancoElite.com, and maybe, uh, support us as of today with DeFrancoElite.com. But that said, today we're gonna be talking about prostitution, and right now prostitution is only legal in one U.S. state. Nevada, the state that I pronounced wrong for about 11 years.

Starting point is 00:00:21 But a thing you might not know if you haven't looked too far into it is prostitution actually isn't legal in every county in Nevada. So, if you're gonna go to Vegas soon, you've had this in your mind, keep in mind that it is still actually illegal there. And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, doesn't really apply to misdemeanors that could land you in jail for up to six months. But, all of that said, today we're actually not talking about prostitution in Nevada. Instead, we're gonna be focusing on the smallest state in the United States, Rhode Island. And Rhode Island's really worth looking at for a few reasons. For starters, it's the only state where prostitution has been legal statewide in recent years.

Starting point is 00:00:49 Also probably has the craziest history of sex work out of any state in the country. I mean, for example, for more than 20 years, Rhode Island accidentally legalized indoor prostitution. And yes, I did actually just say accidentally. Now right now, prostitution is illegal again in Rhode Island, but it may not stay that way for long. Just recently, a Rhode Island state representative introduced legislation to create a special commission to study the health and safety impact of revising commercial sexual activity laws.

Starting point is 00:01:12 Meaning that the state might be looking into data behind legalizing sex work. So today we're gonna be talking about how a state can accidentally legalize something like prostitution, some of the shocking things that happened in Rhode Island when commercialized sex work was legal and why there are now arguments to bring it back. So to properly start us off, let's look at the history of prostitution in Rhode Island and how the state accidentally legalized it. And I'm not gonna stop smiling when you accidentally legalize prostitution, that's kind of hilarious. But for this story, we look back to the mid-1970s. During this time, a former prostitute named Margot St. James was traveling the United States and Europe advocating to keep governments out of sex work.

Starting point is 00:01:43 And St. James was the founder of Coyote, which is short for call off your old tired ethics. And this organization also focused on public policy and prostitution. Here's St. James speaking to a news reporter at the first annual hookers ball in San Francisco in 1974. An event that was a fundraiser for Coyote. What my goal is, of course, is complete decriminalization of sex for human beings. Uh, even commercial sex, you know. Just because we're getting paid for our time doesn't mean it has to be, you know, something you go to jail for. St. James' fight to decriminalize prostitution eventually brought her to Rhode Island, and that is where she met a lawyer named Ralph Ganella.

Starting point is 00:02:15 Ganella represented a strip club owner in Providence who kept having run-ins with police because he let prostitutes hang out in his bar, and Ganella wanted to help his client. So together, Ganella and St. James decided to challenge the constitutionality of Rhode Island's prostitution laws. Coyote sued the state and Ganella represented the group. And in their lawsuit, Coyote and Ganella argued Rhode Island's prostitution laws were so broad they could actually prohibit sex between unmarried adults. The suit also argued that under the law, a person who initiated a sex offer could be charged

Starting point is 00:02:39 with soliciting and face up to five years in prison. Coyote's suit also alleged that the application of the law was discriminatory because more female prostitutes were arrested than male customers. Now at the same time the lawsuit was being argued in court, residents of the West End neighborhood in Providence were growing more and more upset about the number of prostitutes in their streets.

Starting point is 00:02:54 In fact, it reportedly got so bad that people were just driving through the neighborhood and trying to solicit women who were just trying to go to work or school. So the people of the West End reached out to their state representative, a guy named Matthew Smith, who was the Speaker of the House and had a reputation of getting things done quickly for his residents.

Starting point is 00:03:07 So after hearing from his constituents, Smith asked a district court judge for advice on how to fix this problem. And the judge told Smith that to get prostitutes off the street, the state should make prostitution a misdemeanor crime instead of a felony. And his reasoning was that he believed it would speed up prosecution in court. So with that advice, Smith introduced legislation to change prostitution from a felony to a misdemeanor through amendments to the law. Smith's bill passed unanimously, and Rhode Island's prostitution from a felony to a misdemeanor through amendments to the law. Smith's bill passed unanimously and Rhode Island's prostitution laws were amended immediately. But here's the thing about Smith's amendments, even though they explicitly outlawed street prostitution and street solicitation. They failed to mention indoor prostitution at all. When I say indoor prostitution, think massage parlors that offer happy endings. And because the law was missing some pretty key language, Smith's new amendments accidentally legalized indoor sex work.

Starting point is 00:03:45 So now, even though nobody seemed to realize it, Rhode Island had made prostitution indoors totally legal. And Smith's bill actually passed so quickly, it became a law before Coyote's lawsuit was decided. So the judge in Coyote's case, Raymond J. Petten, rendered the claims irrelevant and threw the case out. But a year later, at a ruling on Ganella's request for attorney's fees, Judge Petten discovered the amended law had gone further than was intended, writing, The amendments appear to have decriminalized the sexual act itself, even when undertaken for remuneration. Which means money paid for sex work. So Petten was actually the first person to discover lawmakers had legalized indoor prostitution,

Starting point is 00:04:14 but Petten's realization went largely unnoticed. And through the 1990s and into the early 2000s, police continued arresting Massage Parlor employees for prostitution, but all of that changed in 2003. In 2003, reports started circling that Massage parlors opening in Providence were really brothels where Asian women were being forced into prostitution. So Providence police conducted what they called Operation Rubdown, where they raided four spas, arrested eight people, and seized more than $9,000. Four of the women arrested in the raids were then charged with soliciting for prostitution, but the women didn't plead guilty when they got to court. Instead, their lawyer, Michael Kosellica, argued that they didn't actually violate any laws. And Kosellica based this on two things.

Starting point is 00:04:48 One, a state Supreme Court ruling in 1998 that said Rhode Island's law against solicitation was, quote, primarily to bar prostitutes from hawking their wares in public. And two, Judge Petten's findings that there was no law against indoor prostitution. And ultimately, the state district court agreed with Kosellica and dismissed the charges.

Starting point is 00:05:02 And it actually wouldn't be until 2009 before Rhode Island officially banned indoor prostitution So for six years the police and courts were fully aware indoor prostitution was completely legal everywhere in Rhode Island And here's something crazy that happened during those six years Police still entered massage parlors when they thought prostitutes were working, but they couldn't arrest the women for sex work instead They would arrest the women if they didn't have a license to practice massage So essentially what that means is they couldn't legally give you a massage and touch the majority of your body, but technically they could legally give you a handjob because, you know, laws always make sense.

Starting point is 00:05:31 Now at this point you might be wondering what the hell else happened over the six years, and honestly that's a good question. Because data from Rhode Island between 2003 to 2009 can give us a picture of what legalizing indoor prostitution can actually look like. And that's really important because there's actually a lot less data on prostitution in the US than you'd Expect but here are some things that have been reported about sex work in the States It's been estimated that the prostitution trade generates over 14 billion dollars a year and anywhere between 16 to 30 percent of men have allegedly Paid for sex when it comes to public health in 1992 National Health and Social Life survey showed that 23% of female prostitutes reported they have had gonorrhea That is a very high number when you compare it to the number of women who have never worked as prostitutes.

Starting point is 00:06:07 That number coming in at just 4.7%. The homicide rate for female prostitutes is also crazy high. In 2004, one study found that 204 out of 100,000 female prostitutes were murdered on the job every year. And just so you have a reference there, the most dangerous legal profession in the states in 2017 was fishing work, but even in that profession only

Starting point is 00:06:25 100 out of 100,000 workers had fatal injuries. Maybe even worse than that though, according to another study, one-third of all serial murder victims are prostitutes and another study found that 68% of women engaged in street-level prostitution have been raped by clients. So with all of that in mind you might be thinking, okay, well what happened with public health and safety? Was it negatively affected during those years? What about rapes and sexually transmitted infections? Did those rise? Well, actually there's a pretty recent study that showed the opposite happened. And that study that I'm talking about is called Decriminalizing Indoor Prostitution Implications for Sexual Violence and Public Health. And it was a study conducted by two economists Scott Cunningham of Baylor University and Manisha Shah of UCLA.

Starting point is 00:06:59 And their study is currently one of the most comprehensive looks into what happened in Rhode Island during those six years when indoor prostitution was legal. Now before we get into the more shocking stuff the study found, it's worth noting that not all of the most comprehensive looks into what happened in Rhode Island during those six years when indoor prostitution was legal. Now before we get into the more shocking stuff the study found, it's worth noting that not all the things the study found were unexpected. Like for example, the study found a decrease in prostitute arrests, an increase in advertising for indoor prostitution, and an increase in the size of the indoor prostitution market. It also found that as more women entered prostitution, the price of their services fell. But the study didn't really focus on those factors, instead it mainly focused on these two. One, reported rape offenses, and two, cases of gonorrhea.

Starting point is 00:07:27 And this is where the unexpected happened. According to their study, when indoor prostitution was legal, the statewide incidences of gonorrhea among women actually went down by almost 40%, and the number of rapes reported to police declined by 31%. And when it comes to that last number, Cunningham and Shaw were actually so surprised by the massive decrease in rapes they examined their data using three separate statistical models.

Starting point is 00:07:45 But no matter their methods, they kept finding that rapes were down in Rhode Island pretty dramatically. But the question was, why? How is it that more prostitution in Rhode Island decreased reported rapes in cases of gonorrhea? Well, according to Cunningham and Shaw, there were actually a few possible reasons. First, street prostitution tends to have a higher rate of gonorrhea and rape than indoor prostitution. So it makes sense that with a bigger legal indoor market, you see those numbers go down. Second, indoor prostitution businesses can invest in security teams that you rarely see

Starting point is 00:08:09 in outdoor prostitution. Third, decriminalization can increase sex workers' willingness to cooperate with police. And so if sex workers are more likely to report crimes, Cunningham and Shaw argue there's a lower chance clients will become violent. And fourth, the study notes, decriminalization of indoor prostitution

Starting point is 00:08:22 could allow police resources to be reallocated away from indoor arrest toward other crimes The freeing up of police personnel and equipment to other areas could ultimately cause other crime rates like rape to decrease It's because Cunningham and Shah study was so surprising It's partially responsible for why there's a new push to look into legalizing prostitution in Rhode Island again last month The Rhode Island State representative named Anastasia Williams introduced legislation to study the health and safety impact of revising commercial sexual activity laws. Or in other words, she's calling for a commission to study the idea of decriminalizing sex in the state. But of course there's the question of, well, what are the chances this resolution actually passes?

Starting point is 00:08:53 Well, as of filming this, the bill is currently in committee and getting it out of committee might be an uphill battle despite Rhode Island's history and Cunningham and Shaw's finding. And the reason for that is because opponents have argued that a decrease in rapes and STIs doesn't tell the full story about sex work in Rhode Island. And these opponents also argue that Cunningham and Shaw's study misses a big piece of the conversation around prostitution, and that is sex trafficking. And sex trafficking is defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act. Now Cunningham and Shaw didn't dive into sex trafficking in their study because they cited a lack of good data. And that's true, there actually hasn't been a lot of research into sex trafficking in Rhode Island during this time. But still, opponents point out that an increase in the market could mean more women will be brought into Rhode Island illegally.

Starting point is 00:09:32 And in recent years, it's not hard to find sex trafficking cases in Rhode Island. In just 2018 alone, police arrested a level 3 sex offender for running a sex trafficking operation out of his home. An 18-year-old woman was charged with trafficking a 15-year-old girl. Another man from Rhode Island was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for trafficking a 16 year old girl in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. But also, those are just cases where arrests happen. The National Human Trafficking Hotline has reported

Starting point is 00:09:53 they handled more than 60 cases of sex trafficking in Rhode Island from 2012 to June of 2018. And while that may not seem like a lot, sex trafficking in Rhode Island could be responsible for a lot of cases in other states too when you consider Rhode Island's location in New England. Interstate 95 is a massive highway that stretches from upstate Maine to the southern coast of Florida and a portion of this major highway stretches across Rhode Island.

Starting point is 00:10:11 And law enforcement have believed for a long time that this stretch of highway has been used as gateway for drugs and human trafficking from Boston to Connecticut and New York. And of note there, sex trafficking in these neighboring states is a lot higher. The National Human Trafficking Hotline has reported they handled nearly 200 cases of sex trafficking in Connecticut from 2012 to June of 2018. In Massachusetts that number is more than 350. And in New York they dealt with more than 1,300 cases during that same time period. So opponents to changing the law worry that women from these neighboring states will be brought into Rhode Island through the 95 corridor. But ultimately that is really where we are with the situation now and we're gonna have to wait to see what actually happens with Rhode Island. Coyote is still pretty active in the state and they're pushing very hard to get Williams' bill passed.

Starting point is 00:10:47 But at the same time, opponents have been pretty outspoken. Some have even written editorials like this one from the Providence Journal where they've condemned prostitution. So either way, it's gonna be very interesting to see. But let's say even if Williams' bill does pass, the commission will have to report its findings back to the Rhode Island House of Representatives

Starting point is 00:11:01 by early February of 2020. So understand it won't be legalized there in 2019, but it's definitely not off the table yet for 2020. But with all of that said, it brings us to the part of the video where I pass that question off to you. What are your thoughts about the story in general around Rhode Island? But also, what are your thoughts around the legalization of prostitution? Do you think that it makes sense? Yes or no? Why? Why not? I will say to add my opinion, I personally am for the legalization.

Starting point is 00:11:21 I feel like if you legalize it, all of a sudden you're taxing it, all of a sudden you're able to put systems in place to make sure everyone's being safe. And I mean that from the standpoint of STIs, violence, as well as cracking down on trafficking. I feel like if everything's on the up and up, it's a whole lot less likely that the abuse will slip through the cracks.

Starting point is 00:11:35 I can also see a little bit of the point that opponents in Rhode Island are saying, where they think that people from other states will be brought there. So it feels like one of those situations where if you want this to be effective, you have to do this at a federal level. But that's a story, a little bit of my personal takeaway, and of course I'd love to hear from you. But with that said, of course, remember if you like

Starting point is 00:11:49 this extra morning news deep dive, let us know. Hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, you want more, be sure to subscribe, ring that bell to turn on notifications. But with that said, I love your face, I hope you have a great day, and I'll see you later today on the brand new Philip DeFranco Show.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - MS 3.19 Here's What Happened When Rhode Island Accidentally Legalized Prostitution

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