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WE DID IT! California repeals harmful loitering law

By Miriam Karmali, Freedom United

We did it! California’s Governor Newsom signed the Safer Streets for All Act into law, meaning trafficking victims and sex workers in California will no longer face arrest and criminalization just for walking on the street, or for seeking help. 

This is a huge win for trafficking victims and sex workers. Thank youto the Freedom United community for helping make this happen!
Read & comment!

The Safer Streets for All Act, due to go into effect on January 1, 2023, repeals section 653.22 of California’s penal code, an archaic and harmful law that criminalizes loitering for the intent to engage in prostitution. 

In practice, this law targets victims of trafficking and sex workers, and is applied disproportionately against cis and trans women of color, often working in the sex industry. It also prevents survivors of trafficking from moving on with their lives if they are dealing with the significant challenges posed by acquiring a criminal record. 

But the Safer Streets for All Act will now give trafficking survivors the power to clear their names. This is a significant win and makes California a leader in supporting trafficking victims and survivors. 

We handed in over 9,000 Freedom United community signatures with our partner CAST to Governor Newsom, and our California community also called the Governor’s office. We urged him to listen to the thousands of anti-trafficking advocates supporting passage of the Safer Streets for All Act – and he did! 

This demonstrates how powerful we are when we raise our voices together to call for change.   

Read all about our campaign in our field report

The Safer Streets for All Act is key to trafficking prevention effortsand will enable trafficking survivors criminalized under the loitering law to clear their name and recover. 

A huge thank you to the Freedom United community for helping get this over the line!

 Show your support in the comments.

In solidarity,  

Miriam and the team supporting the Freedom United community  

P.S. COMING IN JUST FOUR DAYS: want to know more about sex work and trafficking? Hear from our special guests in a brand new podcast series launching on July 12. Stay tuned for the first episode! 
 
Miriam Karmali
Advocacy, Freedom United

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