09x02 - Decriminalization of sex work

[bunniefuu]

LAST WEEK TONIGHT
WITH JOHN OLIVER

Welcome "Last Week Tonight"!

I'm John Oliver.
Thank you so much for joining us.

It has clearly been a very busy week,
because we don't even have time

to get into the fact
that Ketanji Brown Jackson

became the first Black woman
nominated to the Supreme Court,

or that the governor of Texas
decided to target trans children

and their parents
for no f*cking reason whatsoever.

And that is because we clearly
have to begin tonight with Ukraine.

It is the story that you've either
been persistently avoiding

because it's stressing you out, or that
you've been following obsessively,

for the exact same reason.

As we are all now painfully aware,

Vladimir Putin, Russian president
and World w*r III edgelord,

began an as*ault on the second-largest
country in Europe this week,

shelling several cities
and sending troops across the border.

It has been horrifying to watch,

and CNN, during its coverage
of air raid sirens in Kyiv,

somehow found a way
to make it even worse

with this terrible transition
to break.

And a little bit of chicken fried.
Cold beer on a Friday night.

A pair of jeans that fit just right
and the radio up.

Get five boneless wings for $1
with any handcrafted burger.

Only at Applebee's.

Yeah, it's not great, is it?

And it's not just that it cut to
a commercial for a restaurant chain

whose food can only be described
as "sometimes warm".

It's just so aggressively American.

From the country song that thinks
listing food counts as lyrics

all the way to this human Boot Barn
shaking his non-existent ass.

Applebee's actually put out a statement
afterward apologizing, saying,

"We are deeply concerned
about the situation in Ukraine,

the ad never should have aired,

and we are disappointed
in the actions of the network."

And that is some deft
international diplomacy

from the home of both the grilled
"Oriental" chicken salad

and the tipsy leprechaun.

And you know
when Applebee's is apologizing

for interrupting the coverage
of Russia invading Ukraine,

this week got seriously out of hand.

Condemnation of Putin's invasion
has been widespread,

from the UN secretary general,
the Pope, and even George W. Bush,

who stated,
"I join the international community

in condemning Putin's unprovoked
and unjustified invasion of Ukraine".

And hold on, George, not from you.
You are not the guy for this one.

Because that statement only would
have made sense if it ended with,

"Oh sh*t, now I hear it.
Sorry, I'll shut the f*ck up now."

For the time being, instead
of putting troops on the ground,

countries around the world announced
a flurry of sanctions on Russia.

But Putin seems
to have taken that into account,

because in the eight years
since invading Crimea,

he's taken steps to
blunt their impact,

by restructuring Russia's economy
for the specific purpose

of withstanding
western financial pressure.

It's just one of the many ways

in which, as shocking as the speed
of this week's events may have been,

they were actually
depressingly predictable.

Putin has been laying the groundwork
for this for years.

State media there has long pushed
fake stories of Ukrainian brutality,

including, at one point,
alleging that the Ukrainian m*llitary

had tortured
and then crucified a three-year-old,

a claim for which,
"No one could turn up any evidence",

and which "is widely accepted
to have been a fabrication".

And that is just one incident
of many.

Just this year, Russian state media
has been airing "false flag" videos

to try and build a pretext
for an invasion,

some of which
were pretty sloppily put together.

On February 18th, pro-Russian
separatists released a video

purporting to show
a g*n battle in a forest.

ABC News confirms the video file
appears to have been created

on February 8th, 10 days
earlier than the alleged att*ck.

Further analysis by ABC News
and Bellingcat

indicate that some of the explosions
in the video

were actually taken from a 2010
Finnish defense forces training video.

Come on, Russia!

You're stealing explosions
from Finnish defense forces?

If you're going to go
to the trouble of faking footage,

at least put some effort in.

Steal the whole thing,

and then throw in some T-Rexes in
from "Jurassic Park," as well.

Why not at least have some fun
with your lies

as you're dragging a continent
into a pointless w*r?

The point here is, this has been
in the works for a very long time.

Putin frame the invasion
as the "denazification" of Ukraine,

and thought, "Hold on,
that's a very weird thing to say".

But he's been making
that bullshit case for years now,

despite the fact
Ukraine's current president

is "both Jewish and had family
members die in the Holocaust".

And I don't want to play
"who's the biggest n*zi?" here.

That, after all, is what Twitter is for.
But between Zelensky and Putin,

if you are looking for
who is more like h*tler,

I'm just going to go
with the ethno-nationalist despot

invading sovereign
European territory

and who is also
a terrible f*cking painter.

Putin has doggedly pursued this,

and has not seemed to want to hear
any arguments against it.

This week began
when Putin officially recognized

these two regions in Ukraine
as independent,

which set the invasion in motion.

And in a security council
meeting at the Kremlin on Monday,

just watch how he dressed down
his own spy chief

after the man suggested maybe
trying diplomacy one last time.

I would agree with Nikolai
Platonovich's proposal

that we can give our so-called
western partners one last chance.

Otherwise, we have to make
the decision we are discussing today.

What does that mean, "otherwise?" Are
you suggesting we start negotiations?

No, I...

Or recognize
sovereignty of the republics?

I will...

Speak directly!

I will support
the proposal of recognition...

You will support,
or you do support?

- Speak directly!
- I am supporting the proposal...

Then say it like that, yes or no.

I am supporting the proposal
about the entry of the Donetsk

and Luhansk People's Republics
into the Russian Federation.

We're not talking about that.
We are not discussing that.

We're talking about recognizing
their independence or not.

Yes. I support the proposal
to recognize their independence.

All right. Thanks.
You can take your seat.

Putin is a lot of things.

He's an autocrat, a tyrant, a warmonger
but he's also kind of a huge bitch.

Unfortunately for that guy,

he clearly forgot the best strategy
for public speaking in Russia,

which is, just imagine the entire
audience in their underwear

and Vladimir Putin
pointing a p*stol at your head.

It really focuses the mind.

Look, what Russia is doing in Ukraine
is completely indefensible.

Even Putin allies like Hungarian
Prime Minister Viktor Orban

are coming out against it.

You cannot make a case
for what is happening.

And when you even try as Russia's
ambassador to Ireland did this week,

it just sounds ridiculous.

It's not our choice.

The w*r...

The m*llitary option,
is not our choice.

But, sir, your forces have invaded
a sovereign nation,

it was your choice.

It was not our preferable choice.

Why should our government
entertain your presence here

when you're acting
as an apologist for slaughter?

It's a good question.

You might ask that your government,
it's up to them.

He just asked you why Ireland
should allow you to stay there

as an apologist for slaughter,
and you said, "Good question?"

That really didn't seem to me
like a gotcha question,

and yet somehow,
you just got got.

That's actually a pretty
good reminder that Ireland,

in addition to being known
for eye-shatteringly

beautiful meadows
and free-flowing sheep,

is also known for taking absolutely
zero sh*t from occupying armies.

Believe me!

And it is notable that despite
all the anti-Ukraine propaganda

that Putin has pushing
on his people over the years,

and the fact that he so fiercely
cracks down on dissent,

there have still been massive
demonstrations against the w*r

in major Russian cities this week.

And the fact is that for many Russians,
this is a heartbreaking situation.

It hurts 'cause it's our friends,
our relatives.

I'm sorry, I'm so shocked.
I just can't help crying.

I think that most Russians
don't support this. It's horrible.

I feel sorry for people there.
I feel sorry for us.

I don't like it and I don't want it
to be like that at all.

- Do you know people in Ukraine?
- Yep. I'm actually in love with one.

So, I don't know what to say.
It's a tragedy.

Yeah, it is.
This whole thing is a tragedy.

No long-distance relationship

should have to end
because of a land w*r in Europe.

We know they should only end the way
all long-distance relationships do:

eventually.

Now, as for Ukrainians,
they are resisting hard.

Videos have made the rounds
this week, like this one,

of a woman offering Russian soldiers
sunflower seeds,

the seeds
of Ukraine's national flower.

There are deep signs of defiance,
people who are unwilling to yield.

This woman confronted heavily
armed Russian soldiers.

You're occupiers!
You're fascists!

You've come to our soil, why the f*ck
did you come here with your g*ns?

Take these seeds here,
these raw seeds,

so that at least the sunflowers
will grow once you die here.

Our conversation won't lead anywhere,
so let's not escalate the situation.

- Please.
- What situation?

Please,
let's not escalate the situation.

Our conversation
won't lead anywhere.

Guys!
Put the seeds in your pockets.

Our conversation
won't result in anything.

Put the flower seeds in your pockets,
you'll die here with the seeds.

You came to my land. Do you
understand? You're the occupiers.

You're the enemy.

And from this second
you're already cursed. I'm telling you.

- Let's not escalate the situation.
- How can you escalate it any further?

You came here f*cking uninvited.
Pieces of sh*t!

Good for her!

And let's recognize for a second
how ice-cold that insult is.

"Take these seeds
and put them in your pocket

so sunflowers will grow
when you die".

That is f*cking brutal.

That woman brought seeds to a gunfight
and somehow still comfortably won.

I know that this is all
tough to watch.

And right now, especially as we are
taping this on Saturday,

I have a lot more questions
than answers.

Questions like, "What are
the days ahead going to bring?"

"Can Ukraine
possibly survive this?"

And, "What form might
that survival even take?"

But I will say the acts of selflessness
and bravery on display this week

have offered
a small glimmer of hope,

as has the extent of global
condemnation for what Putin is doing.

And when you put all of it together,
it is enough to make you wonder,

after committing
a barbaric criminal act such as this,

how can Putin possibly expect the
world, or indeed the Russian people,

to respect or support him
ever again?

I don't know
the answer to that,

but if I may paraphrase
his own ambassador,

it is a good f*cking question.

And now this!

And Now: A Look Back
at Notable Moments in History.

Tonight, I can report to the American
people and to the world

that the United States has conducted an
operation that k*lled O*ama b*n L*den...

And a little bit of chicken fried.
Cold beer on a Friday night.

From Dallas, Texas.
The flash, apparently official.

President Kennedy d*ed
at 1:00 PM central standard...

And a little bit of chicken fried.
Cold beer on a Friday night.

We, the jury, in the above-entitled
action find the defendant,

Orenthal James Simpson...

And a little bit of chicken fried.
Cold beer on a Fri...

Diana Princess of Wales
has d*ed after a car crash...

And a little bit of chicken fried.

The humanity!

Cold beer on a Friday night.

Supreme Court Associate
Justice Ruth Bader Gins...

A pair of jeans that fit just right.
And the radio up.

Moving on.

Our main story
tonight concerns sex.

The thing that cute little bird
outside your window

is constantly screaming about.

It's true! It's yelling "Sex, sex,
I'm horny, who wants sex?"

Just try and remember that as your
grandmother is gazing peacefully at it.

Sex is a topic that, historically, we've
not been very good at talking about.

- You know something?
- No, what?

- I had a wet dream last night.
- Wet dream? What's that?

- When sperm comes out of your penis.
- Sperm?

- Didn't your brother tell you about it?
- No.

Wait, hold on.
You're not his brother?

What the f*ck?

Then why are you talking
about sperm with some random kid?

It feels like the main takeaway
from that video

should be to stay away
from creepy teenagers

who like to chat up neighborhood
tweens about their wet penis.

Specifically tonight,
we're going to talk about sex work.

And the concept is pretty simple.

Let's say you have sex, any kind...
missionary, doggie, cowgirl, cowboy,

the eagle, the wheelbarrow,
the wild chincoteague pony,

the Jerry Seinfeld,
the pick-me-up, the put-me-down,

mouth-butt, butt-mouth, mouth-mouth
butt-butt, butt-butt mouth butt...

You know, whatever.
But then that's it.

You go home.
It's fine, right? It's fine.

But let's say you have sex,
but afterwards,

you get money, or a chocolate bar,
or one of those participation trophies.

Way better, right?
Too bad, it's illegal.

Very basically, sex work is the exchange
of sex for money or goods,

and in the United States,

a complicated patchwork of local,
state, and federal laws

makes that act illegal everywhere
except for a few counties in Nevada.

And if you're thinking,
"Hold on, John..."

Didn't Donald Sutherland
and Julie Christie

have sex for real in 'Don't Look Now'
and also get paid at least scale?

Wouldn't that be illegal?"

The answer is one, yes, I also believe
that rumor, great reference,

and two, that is actually legal
because of the presence of the camera,

making it an "art film",
otherwise known as "p*rn"

and thus, legally,
covered as part of free speech.

So basically, consensual sex for money
on camera is legal p*rn,

and consensual sex for money
off-camera is illegal sex work.

Makes sense, right?
Wrong? Exactly.

Everything about the way
we regulate sex work in this country

is confusing
and counterproductive.

And when we talk about it,
it's often either demonizing,

patronizing, or just plain wrong.

And in some cases,
all three at once.

It was once called
the world's oldest profession,

you know the names: prost*tute, tramp,
call girl, hooker, even whore.

If that didn't get your attention,
this right here will.

Most are really victims,
people being sex trafficked.

First of all, they're actually not,
for reasons that we'll get into later.

But setting that aside,
if you're going to talk about someone,

maybe don't start the sentence
by insulting them.

It's like saying,
"You know him as a dickhead.

A f*ck weasel.
A stingy, unlikeable bitch.

And today, at his funeral,
we remember Uncle Todd."

Because as long as sex work has
existed, so have efforts to stop it.

And it comes in many forms,

from people who object to it
on moral grounds,

to those who associate it
with crime,

to those who want the practice
permanently ended,

as they believe all sex work
is exploitation

and absolutely cannot be done
consensually.

But a human history's
worth of shitty laws

hasn't changed the fact that, one, sex
work has always been part of society,

appealing to every interest
and every kind of clientele.

And, two, sex workers
are not a monolith.

People from a variety of backgrounds
do it for a variety of reasons.

And the fact is, our current system
of criminalizing the trade

and driving everyone underground

is actually only making life harder
for the most vulnerable involved.

And given that sex workers are,
and this is true,

people with thoughts
about their own f*cking situation,

we thought tonight,
we'd actually listen to them.

Let's start with the fact that this is
not going to be a piece about morality.

You might well think people should
only have sex during a full moon,

wearing a three-piece suit,
and with their common-law horse.

That is your business.

This story is going to be
about the fact that sex work

is, inarguably, labor. It is a job.

And people do it for the same
reasons people do any job,

as this advocate explains.

Sex work is inherently work.
It's how people feed their families.

It's how people
put clothes on their backs.

It's how people survive.

I've been a sex worker.
I've been a lawyer.

I've served sandwiches
at Subway.

I've folded clothes at Abercrombie.
All those are work.

Right, it's all work!

The main difference between sex work
and working at a Subway

is that at least in sex work
you know what the customer's eating.

And yet some people
feel highly uncomfortable

with the
very idea that sex work is labor

and should therefore be
treated as such.

Watch a New York
state assemblyman

struggle to even get his head
around that.

We've got hookers roaming the
Capitol now, lobbying to be legalized.

I can't even imagine
what that looks like.

But they're lobbying,
and they're talking health insurance,

fair wages,
all the things that come with it.

So, this has really,
really gotten out of hand.

Yeah, can you imagine!

An organized group of citizens
lobbying their state government

for access
to basic human rights!

This has gotten well out of hand.

Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have to go continue styling my hair

like a famously r*cist cartoon.

Now, part of his reluctance there
is probably his general d*ck vibe,

but it also points
to something much bigger.

And that is the argument
that, as that anchor just said,

"Most sex workers are victims,

and what they need is someone
to step in and save them."

And one of the biggest groups
that loves to do that is the police,

who often position themselves
as saviors for sex workers,

even as they are arresting
and jailing them.

I've talked to numerous survivors
that say it saved their life.

- Being arrested?
- Yes.

We open the door for help. And if we
don't do that, who's going to do it?

If I don't offer them help,
who's gonna?

There's no one
going to help them.

Hold on. 'Cause first, if that is true,
that no one else is going to help them,

then you're pointing at a gigantic
problem that needs to be fixed.

'Cause arresting someone
isn't usually considered

the best way
of providing assistance.

That is why there isn't a thank you
section in Hallmark called

"for your arresting officer".

'Cause I think we can all agree,
if there are people doing sex work

who don't want to be doing it,

we should absolutely be aiding
their transition out of that situation.

But the question here is,
are we doing that right now?

Let's look at some of the methods that
police use in dealing with sex workers

which can be traumatizing, invasive,
and occasionally unbelievably cruel,

like this undercover sting
from an episode of "Cops".

So, how about
a little clown action?

- Should I get in?
- Come on!

Surveillance unit, she's getting
in the van in the front passenger seat.

- You're not police, are you?
- As a matter of fact...

Coco, please!

- Please step out of the car.
- We're not doing nothing.

Hands behind your back!

- We're not doing nothing.
- Relax.

You're under arrest for prostitution.

Yeah, only one of those people
ended up in handcuffs

and it somehow
wasn't the guy who said,

"How about some clown action",
before jizzing silly string.

This is not the most important point.
In fact, it's arguably the least,

but that's not a clown hat,
it's a "Cat in the Hat" hat.

And I'll admit, I'm not an expert on
clown attire for prostitution stings.

But I know a hat mistake when I see
one, and that is a hat mistake.

Hat mistake!

Exactly.

It is no wonder many sex workers
have trouble

regarding the police as their saviors,
especially as cops have a reputation

for acting violently
or inappropriately during stings.

A couple of years ago in Arizona,
federal agents allegedly engaged in

"17 sexual encounters with women
working in massage parlors,"

as part of an investigation disgustingly
codenamed "Operation Asian Touch",

And the thing is, that's not uncommon,
because in many states,

it is not specifically illegal for police
officers to have sex with workers

during the course
of a sting operation.

And in some states, police have
protested efforts to ban the practice.

Which is both grotesque
and also a bit ironic

because what they're fundamentally
arguing there

is that they should be able
to have sex for their jobs legally

in order to stop people having sex
for their jobs.

And even without that provision,

the laws police can use to arrest
or intimidate sex workers

are shockingly broad.

If you work in the sex trade,

the thr*at of arrest looms large
over your entire existence.

This is another area

that disproportionately
affects people of color.

One recent investigation found
that, from 2016 to 2020,

almost everyone arrested by the NYPD
for buying or selling sex was nonwhite.

One particularly problematic law
is the prohibition against

"loitering for the purpose
of prostitution".

It's basically a stop-and-frisk
policy for sex workers.

And in New York,
it's written so vaguely,

the NYPD has used it to interpret
completely legal activities

like talking to pedestrians or dressing
provocatively as a basis for an arrest.

Cops have used the law
to arrest people

because they wore "black cowboy
boots, and black shorts,"

and "a multi-color short dress
and sandals."

And in one case,
a woman was arrested

because "her clothes exposed
her buttocks and cervix area,"

which isn't so much a crime
as it is an urgent medical emergency.

Meanwhile, in some states,
cops have seized condoms

and used them
as evidence of prostitution,

or even charged people
with a misdemeanor called

"possessing an instrument of crime"
for carrying them.

And criminalizing condoms
has led some sex workers

to hide them or even go without,
as this worker in Queens explains.

You ask where we hide our condoms.

We hide condoms in our private parts,
where they won't touch us.

We should be able to carry condoms
to protect ourselves

and to protect
the people we are with.

The authorities show
a real lack of intelligence

when they say
it's a crime to carry condoms.

In the transgender community,
not carrying condoms is a death wish.

That is just ridiculous.

Putting aside the fact
"it's a crime to carry condoms"

sounds like the name of a Christian
boy band's self-released album,

which it absolutely does,
by the way.

What you're doing there is genuinely
making sex workers' jobs less safe.

That is not the only way

our current policies
harm those that they claim to help.

A criminal record can limit
a sex worker's future opportunities

should they want to leave the field.

Because while most sex-related
crimes are classified as misdemeanors,

in some states,
including all these,

repeated arrests can result
in a felony conviction and prison time.

And for a while, in Louisiana, some
of those arrested for doing sex work

wound up having to register
as sex offenders,

which is particularly galling.

If anyone you've seen so far tonight
should be labeled a sex offender,

it's all the cops who've ever had sex
during a sting,

and again, that f*cking clown.

And look, I don't want
to paint too rosy a picture here.

Sex work can be dangerous.

And we need to be talking,
constructively,

about how to make it safer
in every possible way.

But a reason it's hard
to have that conversation

is that sex work so often gets
conflated with something else,

and that is human trafficking.

And let me first say that, of course,
human trafficking is real,

and when it happens,
it's absolutely horrific.

You immediately think
of Jeffrey Epstein and...

Am I legally allowed to say
Prince Andrew?

I'm not? Are you sure about that?
You're totally sure?

Okay, forget I said it, then.

But the concept
of human trafficking

looms large in the conversation
around sex work.

You've probably seen massive numbers
get thrown around online,

despite the fact experts
will tell you,

"Getting an accurate count on those
subjected to forced sex or labor

has eluded researchers for years."

And look, any number north
of zero is clearly terrible.

But far too often, attempts
to cr*ck down on sex trafficking

will conflate it with consensual,
adult sex work.

The implicit assumption

is that no sex worker
has ever entered the trade by choice,

even when that is, by their own
testimony, not the case.

And some states have even written
that assumption into law.

In 2012, lawmakers in Alaska

amended their laws
on "promoting prostitution"

to replace that phrase
with "sex trafficking",

resulting in one case where a woman
was charged with trafficking herself.

Which is obviously absurd,
unless they were making a larger point

about our collective lack
of free will under capitalism.

And if it is the latter, I'd say, bro.
Not the time.

Not the time, bro.

And the thing is, badly written laws
can have massive consequences.

Take FOSTA.

It's a federal law
that was positioned

as a way to cr*ck down
on sex trafficking

by banning online ads
that sold people into sex sl*very.

Which sounds good, right?

What kind of monster
would be against that?

But what it did was ban ads
for all paid sex,

whether or not trafficking
was involved.

It was part of a much larger push
to shut down sites where sex was sold,

along with the shuttering of Backpage
and Craigslist's personals section.

And while undeniably, some very bad
things were advertised on those sites,

they also enabled sex workers to find
clients and communicate with them,

which was a much safer way for them
to do that than operating on the street.

And if you're thinking

"It's bad that sex workers
lost a way to stay safer,

but at least moves like those
helped law enforcement

cr*ck down on sex trafficking,"
the thing is, not really.

In the three years
after FOSTA was passed,

prosecutors said
they'd only used it once.

And as for shutting down Backpage,

that actually made it even harder
to catch sex traffickers.

The site was U.S.-based
and was often willing

to work with law enforcement
to root out the bad actors.

And with it gone, law enforcement
suddenly found tracking them down

to be much more difficult.

So, now we're just trying
to figure out where everybody's going.

So, these new websites
have popped up.

Bedpage, which is almost
an exact replica of Backpage.

Then we've got OneBackpage.

Basically, it's all of these
different websites now

that we don't have any agreements
or search tools with,

and they've kind of spread out.

So, we don't have a certain location
to go look for them anymore,

and it's kind of a crapshoot.

Yeah, that's not ideal, is it?

And of all the questions that raises,
I would also like to ask:

what the f*ck is going on
with her cubicle decor?

It involves not this prominently
displayed Pimpin' Ave street sign,

weird enough on its own,
but also a glass goblet featuring

rhinestones that spell out the phrase
"Ho Fo' Sho".

Which is a pretty weird tone
to strike

for a workplace that rescues
sex trafficking victims.

Those look more like the decorations
you'd find at a bachelorette party

where the guests wind up vomit-crying
out the window of a speeding party bus.

And obviously, law enforcement
should be pursuing sex trafficking

wherever it takes place.

But unfortunately,
the police will often re-frame

traditional prostitution stings
as human trafficking ones.

You might remember a large sting
operation a few years back

of multiple
massage parlors in Florida,

in which Robert Kraft,
the owner of the Patriots,

was charged
with soliciting prostitution.

And the initial comments
from law enforcement

strongly suggested
that the workers at the day spa Kraft

went to were part
of a sex trafficking ring.

The prosecutor was even happy to brag
about their humanitarian mission

in his press conference
after the raid.

I'd like to thank the men and women
of the Jupiter Police Department

for their professionalism and
diligence in investigating these cases.

You can tell
a lot about our community

by the way it treats
its most vulnerable individuals,

and that includes
victims of human trafficking.

He's actually right, you can tell
a lot about a community

by how it treats
its most vulnerable individuals.

And you should know,
months later, a prosecutor admitted

no human trafficking arose
from the investigation,

and Kraft's misdemeanor charges
were later dropped.

And yet, the state attorney's office

"continued to pursue
cases against the women,"

the ones they were supposedly
trying to rescue.

Eventually, four women who worked
at that spa were arrested and jailed,

with three fined thousands of dollars,
and one ending up in ICE detention.

And all of that is bad enough
until you learn that some of the help

offered to workers
caught up in the larger sting

consisted of this care package

that included Band-Aids,
mouthwash, razors,

and a booklet written
by megachurch pastor Rick Warren

titled "What on Earth
Am I Here For?"

Which is literally
only helpful if inside, it says,

"To be scapegoated in a
generations-long morality w*r

that has nothing to do with you
and everything to do

with how we as a society view sex,
money, and power."

And that is hardly
an exception here.

Just listen to Andrew Lewis,
the former coordinator

for the Greater New Orleans
Human Trafficking Task Force,

tell the Louisiana
House of Representatives

about one sting operation
that he personally witnessed.

What I saw was a standard operation,
and it was deeply troubling.

Agents pretending to be clients
set up dates with sex workers.

When a sex worker arrived
at the hotel room,

they would be arrested
and forced into another cold room,

often with very little clothing,
and interviewed.

The same agent
that handcuffed them

would then ask them
if they had been trafficked

and no matter their response,
they were arrested and booked.

At the end of the night, those arrests
were reported back to me

as prospective victims
of human trafficking.

Even when there was no evidence
of force, fraud, or coercion.

Let me be clear,
human trafficking does occur,

and likely more than we know.

But because we are spending
a majority of our time and money

on criminalizing
consensual adult sex work,

we're not able to help those
being actually forced to work

in the construction, agriculture, and,
yes, sex work industries in Louisiana.

Exactly. He's absolutely right.

We clearly should not be wasting
valuable resources

on arresting
consensual sex workers.

And we certainly should not be
interviewing them in cold rooms

while they're wearing
very little clothing.

It turns out, police aren't
so much "rescuing" people

as "lightly refrigerating them,
and then sending them to jail".

And when you take
all of this together,

it is no surprise that many workers who
have been robbed or abused by clients

report that they feel they
can't turn to the police for help.

And in some cases,

those who have turned to the police
say they deeply regret it.

I reported a r*pe from a client
I was supposed to be working with,

and I just wound up getting arrested.

I spent a long time in jail for...

For trying to report a r*pe,

and you just learn better.

No way I'll deal with the cops.
I'll get r*ped 100 times before I do.

Yeah. She went to report a r*pe
and ended up in jail.

I'd call it dystopian if it were
not so f*cking American.

So, at every turn,
we are making life harder

both for people who want
to remain in the sex trade,

and for those
who want to leave it.

So, how do we fix this?

There are actually a few different
options open to us here.

And let's start
with the most restrictive.

Some advocate for something
called the Nordic model.

Which I know sounds like
the answer Leonardo DiCaprio

would give to the question,
"Who would you like to f*ck?"

But the Nordic model is the one that
intuitively might make sense to you.

'Cause it criminalizes the buying
of sex, but not the selling of it.

So we would arrest the clients,
but not the workers,

the ones that you're presumably
concerned for.

It's been adopted in many countries,
including Sweden,

Finland, Norway, and France.

And while it might sound good
on the surface,

one problem with it
is that sex buyers

don't want to be arrested
any more than sex workers do.

Meaning that workers still have
to meet clients in the shadows.

So, for instance, it is still difficult
to vet them online.

And if you're on the street,
it can be even worse,

as this Swedish
sex worker explains.

Especially for the women on the street,
this has been very, very bad.

Because before they had this classic
thing hanging into the car window,

having the discussion,

"This is what I'm willing to sell.
This is what I'm willing to do."

They don't have the time anymore
because the clients are so jumpy,

so they have to get into the car,
drive off, and then negotiate.

And then they're already in the car.

Right. You can't tell
in a split second of looking at a car

if it's safe to get in.

It's not like there's a bumper sticker
that says

"My Child is an Honor Roll Student
and I'm a f*cking Sociopath"

to tip you off.

So, the truth is, many sex workers
don't love the Nordic model.

Another option we could go with
is legalization.

That is where workers
and clients can legally operate,

within certain regulations.

It's the model employed by Amsterdam
and some counties in Nevada.

There, sex workers are limited to
working as independent contractors

and must do so
in regulated brothels,

typically earning 40 to 50% of what
they bring in by servicing customers,

with the remainder
going to the brothel.

And if you're wondering
why those brothels get to take so much,

it is simply because they can.

Nevada essentially
gives them a monopoly.

That is just one reason why sex workers
tend not to be that keen

on the heavily regulated
legalization option, either.

Instead, what many of them advocate for
is something called decriminalization,

which very simply
removes all criminal penalties

for the buying
and selling of consensual sex.

It's a model currently
employed by New Zealand,

a country that does seem to make
a lot of smart choices,

with the glaring exception
of choosing a national bird.

Because what the f*ck is up
with the kiwi, by the way?

It's an incorrect duck.
It's what you'd get if a first grader

was assigned to draw a bird
and then just forgot.

My point here is,
in New Zealand's system,

any sex worker can legally work
for themselves, or in a brothel.

And brothel owners have
to have special certificates

and verify their workers are over 18
and use safe sex practices.

But crucially, this system means that
sex workers have fundamental rights,

from being able to access
unemployment benefits,

to health care, to being covered
by workplace protections.

Sex workers there have successfully
sued over sexual harassment

they experienced in a brothel
and have been able to go to the police.

In fact, last year, a man was convicted
for r*pe in a stealthing case

after he removed a condom
without a sex worker's consent.

It is a human-rights-centered approach
that does seem to be working.

And a sex worker in New Zealand
gives credit for this

to the fact that the people
writing the laws did one key thing.

New Zealand seems to be
the only country that has got it right,

and that's because
they consulted sex workers

whereas any other country
doesn't talk to sex workers,

they just make plans
and laws for them

without discussing it with them
or caring about what they say.

Exactly. And it is sad
that that is so surprising.

Because unfortunately,
it seems most countries' laws

treat sex workers the exact same way
that we treat cats on Halloween.

Squeezing them into bad situations
without their input or consent,

and refusing to take their feelings
into consideration

when they're clearly
not that happy.

I'm not saying
the New Zealand model is perfect.

That woman herself
acknowledges that.

And there are
good-faith disagreements

to be had over the finer points
of a decriminalization policy.

But if we basically agree,
as I hope we do,

that making sex work safer
for the people who do it is a priority,

it is the direction to strive toward.

And we're actually taking some slow
steps in the right direction here.

New York recently
repealed its loitering law,

California seems poised
to do the same.

Meanwhile,
prosecutors around the country

have announced that they won't pursue
certain prostitution cases

and will dismiss thousands
of pending ones, which is great.

And look, to those
who are still uncomfortable here,

out of a concern
that there are people

who feel economically forced
into sex work,

I totally agree with you.
That is a huge problem.

But the fact is, our current laws
are not addressing that.

If you want to do that, that's a much
bigger conversation to have.

Because fundamentally, the only
way to make sure that people

have a choice
in the way they earn money

is to make housing affordable,
health care accessible,

and to not burden marginalized people
with criminal records

that lead to a cycle of joblessness,
homelessness, and desperation.

But until such time
as we have that conversation,

and it does not seem like something
enough people are itching to have now,

we need to stop pursuing policies
that harass, endanger,

and occasionally
refrigerate sex workers

and, instead, start listening
to what they want.

Because, unfortunately,
if we don't do that,

we're just going to carry on looking
like a bunch of f*cking clowns.

And now, this!

And Now...

A Fond Farewell
to the Wendy Williams Show.

- How you doin'?
- Hi!

First-time customer, I see.

This is an accomplished woman
according to everybody but me.

I don't know who this is.

There is nothing worse
than an attractive k*ller.

What the criminology is going on?
What the Bruce Lee is going on?

What the Luther Vandross
is going on with you?

- Somebody's gonna get fired.
- Yes.

I think it should be you.

They took a massive runny dump
in a pair of Manolo Blahniks.

And I eat my baked potato
including the skin.

Clap if you eat the skin.
Clap if you have anxiety.

Clap if you think she should suffer,
if you've wanted to k*ll somebody.

- Where you going with this?
- I'm trying to push a burp down.

That's the problem when you start out
hot, there's nowhere to go but down.

He's so weak. I don't even understand
how she gets moist for him.

I'm about to disrespect you crazy.

That head is long, Lester.

Guilty!

Die!

How you doin'?

It's okay!

Thanks so much for watching.
See you next week. Good night!