In last week’s mayoral debate, three candidates who disagree on nearly everything found unexpected common ground: women in prostitution are victims who shouldn’t be prosecuted.
Curtis Sliwa said it plainly: “You don’t go after the women. The women are the victims here.” A Democratic socialist, a former Democratic governor turned independent and a Republican all agreed — even as they clashed over how to address the city’s visible prostitution crisis.
That rare consensus should push the New York State Legislature to finally pass the solution it’s been sitting on for years: the Sex Trade Survivors Justice and Equality Act (STSJEA).
I survived the sex trade. Being arrested didn’t protect me — it destroyed my chance at stability with a criminal record that blocked housing and jobs for years. What I needed was help escaping exploitation.
The STSJEA stops criminalizing women in prostitution and expunges past convictions. But it shifts accountability to exploiters. Sex buyers face income-based fines. Pimps and traffickers remain criminalized while the bill closes loopholes that let predators evade charges. Every dollar from buyer fines funds survivor services, including housing, counseling, job training and legal assistance.
Albany views this as too polarizing and controversial in an election year. But that debate proved otherwise. Three candidates from opposite political worlds agreed on the core principle. That’s not controversy. That’s opportunity.
Doing nothing is the real political risk. Voters see the crisis on Roosevelt Avenue and across the city. They want solutions, not paralysis.
When these candidates meet Wednesday night for their second debate, they should move from agreement to action. State Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Pamela Hunter gave the State Legislature this tool. The STSJEA does what everyone agreed should happen.
It’s time to pass it.
Gabrielle (Gigi) Prieto is an advocate, speaker, educator and mentor supporting survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation. She currently serves as the Senior Peer Care Navigator at Sanctuary for Families’ “The EMPOWER Center.”
