Laws target those who purchase prostitution
Paying for sex is now a class 6 felony in Arizona following the signing of House Bill 2720, by Gov. Katie Hobbs [D] on June 5. Prostitution will remain a misdemeanor under the legislation sponsored by Arizona State Rep. Selina Bliss [R-District 1], with a mirror bill that forth in the Senate by Arizona State Sen. Flavio Bravo [D-District 26], with Senate Bill 1535.
“Working in the emergency department as a nurse, I saw those that were trafficked and victims of prostitution and domestic violence, so it’s always been an area of interest for me to advocate for those that are vulnerable,” Bliss said. “As well as being a female, to see that this is predominantly — those that are abused in this profession are females.”
A Phoenix neighborhood known as “The Blade,” was cited repeatedly during committee meetings as the bill worked its way through the capitol. The Blade is a three-mile corridor known for prostitution, along 27th Avenue from Northern Avenue to Indian School Road near Grand Canyon University.
Bliss cited a reduction in the number of arrests for prostitution in the Blade as a metric of success for HB 2720.
“First and foremost, go to the Blade and see, ‘can we bring back that community,'” Bliss said. “Then let’s look back at our district. Does Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office still have three fulltime officers or so staffed just for this purpose? I would hope to see the need for law enforcement to have to intervene … go down.”
Those that are charged with paying for sex will have to pay a $200 fine, and that money goes to the state’s Anti-Human Trafficking Grant Fund, which will be used to provide services to victims of sex trafficking.
“We can’t tell,” Bliss said about how much funding the fine will generate for the fund. “Because what’s going to be critical between now and when bills go into effect 90 days after sine die is education, and … we need to educate people in Arizona that this is about to become illegal.”
“HB 2720 also strengthens protections for victims by requiring courts to seal records related to a prostitution conviction when that conviction is vacated because the person was a victim of sex trafficking,” a House GOP press release reads. “The change helps survivors seek employment, housing and a fresh start without old court records standing in the way.”
Both the press release and Bliss’s own remarks frame HB 2720’s benefits strictly around trafficking survivors, with no mention of consensual sex workers.
Among the speakers against the bill was Jeanne Woodbury, of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, during the Senate Judiciary and Elections committee meeting on March 25.
“What I hear from the proponents of this bill is a narrative in which there is demand created by buyers, and then there are victims. And If we can crack down on demand, then that will protect the victims,” Woodbury said. “In this conversation … there is a presumption that when people sell sex, it’s because they’re victims of sex trafficking.”
YCSO’s oft-cited estimate of 30 to 50 sex-trafficking victims in the county traces back to a unnamed Chandler Police Department detective’s online observations, not confirmed cases, according to a prior NEWS story about the formation of its anti-human trafficking unit. Additionally YCSO has not responded to a December information request for the number of sex trafficking victims in the county the department has identified.
“What’s important is these are human beings and not statistics or numbers or victims, we want to see them as survivors, and just to see people retool their lives, and that’s the community college educator in me, that people are redeemable and can contribute to society,” Bliss said. “We just have to give them a chance, and I think that’s what drove me to sponsor and champion this bill.”
