I don’t feel I - as a former homeless teen who engaged in commercial sex, and someone who meets the federal definition for domestic minor sex trafficking - should be forced to have my life narrative defined by others. Amnesty International’s decision to support decriminalization is not about calcifying dominant male entitlement to purchase sex from victimized slaves, or misogynistic capitalism. It is about generating necessary international dialogue on the authentic differences between sex trafficking and sex work.
I can’t find quantifiable proof that Germany has sex tourists pouring in, sexually defiling 450,000 girls and women per day. Or that New Zealand has forced women to endure more for less. Or that Sweden truly defines the way for all continents and countries to proceed, especially considering cultural dynamics in places that are more diverse and economically dynamic. As a Caucasian woman from the West, it may not be my place to select the fate of women abroad, from the East or Global South. However I do believe I have a right to appeal to my government - and governments around the world - to discuss the authentic needs of their women. Because I am a woman, and because I was a homeless youth. Because I worked my way off the streets via the sex industry. Yes. I have been exploited. I have also been empowered. And I have a right to be part of the international dialogue, as opposed to having my journey defined by others.