Illinois could become first state to decriminalize sex work under proposed law

State lawmakers plan to introduce legislation this week that would make Illinois the first state to fully decriminalize sex work.

Equality Illinois and the Sex Worker Advisory Group, a coalition of Black and Brown current and former sex workers, have spent more than three years advocating for this bill, which aims to reduce threats of violence and create safer conditions for sex workers.

“For over 20 years, I worked as a sex worker here in the city of Chicago, and for over 20 years lived under the fear and threat of violence,” said Reyna Ortiz, chair of the Sex Worker Advisory Group. “By passing this legislation, we will make Illinois a safer place for everyone, especially the most vulnerable in our communities.”

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, and state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, would remove criminal penalties for adults engaging in consensual sex work, remove arrest and conviction records for sex workers and establish a sex workers’ bill of rights.

Advocates believe these policy changes would offer sex workers the ability to better vet clients and meet with them in safer places. The proposed policy changes would also allow sex workers to report crimes against them without fear of consequences in their own lives.

“The threat of arrest and prosecution keeps sex workers unsafe and in the shadows, and this threat must be eliminated,” said Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois. “This law is essential now more than ever.”

Between 45% and 75% of all sex workers worldwide will experience violence at some point in their careers, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. An estimated two-thirds of trans people killed in Illinois in the past decade were sex workers, according to state data analyzed by Equality Illinois.

“There is an epidemic of violence against sex workers in this country,” Guzzardi said Monday. “Something needs to be done to keep sex workers safe, and there’s no single thing we can do to solve this epidemic entirely. But there is a proven strategy that has worked in other places across the country and around the world, and that’s fully decriminalizing adult consensual sex work.”

The bill does not remove criminal penalties for sex traffickers or those who abuse sex workers.

When discussing possible opposition to the bill, Guzzardi said those who believe people should be punished and criminalized for engaging in sex work have a “downright nasty point of view.”

“That’s not a point of view that we should be endorsing as the General Assembly,” Guzzardi added. “People deserve safety, people deserve dignity, people deserve respect.”

Advocates hope these legislative changes will also help to reduce the stigma surrounding sex work.

“My SWAG members and fellow sex workers are everyday people, some own businesses, some are social workers, some are parents, regular human beings who are trying to live everyday lives,” said Jayr, a sex worker and full-time security guard.

In 2013, Illinois reduced prostitution convictions from a felony to a Class A misdemeanor, but it is still punishable by up to a year in jail and $2,500 in fines.

“By decriminalizing sex work in Illinois, we send a message that sex workers deserve to be safe, and we will send a message that we will move forward and serve as a true beacon of bodily autonomy and freedom,” Johnson said Monday. “Nothing short of full decriminalization will achieve this.”

The bill’s sponsors plan to formally introduce the legislation sometime this week, according to Johnson.