Amid concerns over Mission District sex work, some propose creating an S.F. red-light district
As San Francisco leaders scramble to install barriers on Capp Street — hoping to divert, or at least slow down an unchecked market for sex work — some community organizers are contemplating a more controversial and far-reaching approach: creating a sanctioned red-light district.
The move has support from sex-worker advocates, Mission District residents who want the now-illicit business contained in a commercial zone and Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who broadly favors the idea but is more focused on lifting criminal penalties from the sex trade altogether. And she's turned to Sacramento for assistance. Ronen is drafting a resolution that would urge state legislators to write a bill that would legalize sex work.
"I do feel that society's acceptance and (ability) to get away from the morality issues is growing," Ronen said. Resolutions at the Board of Supervisors are reflections of the board's goals or ideals, and don't carry the weight of a legislative mandate.
State Sen. Scott Wiener and state Assembly Member Matt Haney, both Democrats from San Francisco, were not immediately available to comment on whether they would consider carrying such a bill.
While pressure mounts on law enforcement and elected officials to crack down on alleged sex trafficking and its ramifications — including bumper-to-bumper traffic in the dead of night and reports of violent assaults — leaders have tried to perform a high-wire act, balancing compassion for presumed trafficking victims with empathy for residents who are sometimes afraid to leave their homes.
Celestina Pearl, outreach director for the nonprofit St. James Infirmary, which contracts with the city to provide services for sex workers, suggested Mission Street and Potrero Avenue as possible locations for a sex-work corridor.
"If it's a traffic issue, what if we talked about moving folks over to Mission or Potrero?" Pearl ventured, stopping to speak on the phone Tuesday morning as she and her co-workers drove to a food bank to pick up produce and groceries for their program participants. She pitched those streets as alternatives, she said, largely because they are already more commercial and have fewer homes.
"That's one of the things folks keep saying, 'This is a residential street!' " Pearl said, referring to the people who are raising alarm about the chaos on Capp Street, and imploring city officials for help.
Among them is Lyn Werbach, an organizer with Central Mission Neighbors who does not live on Capp, but whose group advocates for all residents of the central Mission. Werbach would not oppose some sort of designated red-light zone to "centralize the activity in one place, away from homes, so it can be regulated for the safety of workers and the safety of residents," she said.
However, she did cite one complication, similar to the one San Francisco faced when officials tried to find places for navigation centers to shelter the homeless.
"I'm doubtful any district would welcome this activity," Werbach conceded.
Police say they will "conduct enforcement and provide services and education to identified victims of human trafficking," while assessing "the use of traffic control devices as a possible method to address ongoing traffic issues experienced in the area," according to a statement from the San Francisco Police Department. A spokesperson for the department said it can't weigh in on potential legislation, such as Ronen's resolution for sex work to be made legal.
Progressive groups in San Francisco have tried to decriminalize sex work in the past, most notably with a 2008 ballot proposition that would have barred law enforcement from investigating or prosecuting people accused of selling sex. Backed by the Libertarian and Green parties, 2008's Proposition K drew staunch opposition from then-Mayor Gavin Newsom and then-District Attorney Kamala Harris, ultimately losing with about 40% of the vote.
It's unclear whether this year's resurrection of the concept will fare any better. While Ronen said she would endorse a red-light zone, it also comes with challenges. "Figuring out where that space would be and (getting) the authorization of the city attorney will not be easy," she wrote in a text message.
Meanwhile, Pearl has reservations about the current plan to disrupt sex work with traffic barricades, saying she's apprehensive about attempts to shut down "the Capp Street stroll without any contingency plan." It could simply mean the cruising moves to a different roadway, she said, a concern that Ronen shared.
"When you have the mentality of 'we're going to shut it down,' – no, you're not going to shut it down," Pearl said. "You are going to affect it in some way, but that way is yet to be seen. I'm a little worried about what those repercussions are going to be."
Bron: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/mission-district-sex-work-san-francisco-17769843.php
As San Francisco leaders scramble to install barriers on Capp Street — hoping to divert, or at least slow down an unchecked market for sex work — some community organizers are contemplating a more controversial and far-reaching approach: creating a sanctioned red-light district.
The move has support from sex-worker advocates, Mission District residents who want the now-illicit business contained in a commercial zone and Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who broadly favors the idea but is more focused on lifting criminal penalties from the sex trade altogether. And she's turned to Sacramento for assistance. Ronen is drafting a resolution that would urge state legislators to write a bill that would legalize sex work.
"I do feel that society's acceptance and (ability) to get away from the morality issues is growing," Ronen said. Resolutions at the Board of Supervisors are reflections of the board's goals or ideals, and don't carry the weight of a legislative mandate.
State Sen. Scott Wiener and state Assembly Member Matt Haney, both Democrats from San Francisco, were not immediately available to comment on whether they would consider carrying such a bill.
While pressure mounts on law enforcement and elected officials to crack down on alleged sex trafficking and its ramifications — including bumper-to-bumper traffic in the dead of night and reports of violent assaults — leaders have tried to perform a high-wire act, balancing compassion for presumed trafficking victims with empathy for residents who are sometimes afraid to leave their homes.
Celestina Pearl, outreach director for the nonprofit St. James Infirmary, which contracts with the city to provide services for sex workers, suggested Mission Street and Potrero Avenue as possible locations for a sex-work corridor.
"If it's a traffic issue, what if we talked about moving folks over to Mission or Potrero?" Pearl ventured, stopping to speak on the phone Tuesday morning as she and her co-workers drove to a food bank to pick up produce and groceries for their program participants. She pitched those streets as alternatives, she said, largely because they are already more commercial and have fewer homes.
"That's one of the things folks keep saying, 'This is a residential street!' " Pearl said, referring to the people who are raising alarm about the chaos on Capp Street, and imploring city officials for help.
Among them is Lyn Werbach, an organizer with Central Mission Neighbors who does not live on Capp, but whose group advocates for all residents of the central Mission. Werbach would not oppose some sort of designated red-light zone to "centralize the activity in one place, away from homes, so it can be regulated for the safety of workers and the safety of residents," she said.
However, she did cite one complication, similar to the one San Francisco faced when officials tried to find places for navigation centers to shelter the homeless.
"I'm doubtful any district would welcome this activity," Werbach conceded.
Police say they will "conduct enforcement and provide services and education to identified victims of human trafficking," while assessing "the use of traffic control devices as a possible method to address ongoing traffic issues experienced in the area," according to a statement from the San Francisco Police Department. A spokesperson for the department said it can't weigh in on potential legislation, such as Ronen's resolution for sex work to be made legal.
Progressive groups in San Francisco have tried to decriminalize sex work in the past, most notably with a 2008 ballot proposition that would have barred law enforcement from investigating or prosecuting people accused of selling sex. Backed by the Libertarian and Green parties, 2008's Proposition K drew staunch opposition from then-Mayor Gavin Newsom and then-District Attorney Kamala Harris, ultimately losing with about 40% of the vote.
It's unclear whether this year's resurrection of the concept will fare any better. While Ronen said she would endorse a red-light zone, it also comes with challenges. "Figuring out where that space would be and (getting) the authorization of the city attorney will not be easy," she wrote in a text message.
Meanwhile, Pearl has reservations about the current plan to disrupt sex work with traffic barricades, saying she's apprehensive about attempts to shut down "the Capp Street stroll without any contingency plan." It could simply mean the cruising moves to a different roadway, she said, a concern that Ronen shared.
"When you have the mentality of 'we're going to shut it down,' – no, you're not going to shut it down," Pearl said. "You are going to affect it in some way, but that way is yet to be seen. I'm a little worried about what those repercussions are going to be."
Bron: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/mission-district-sex-work-san-francisco-17769843.php
