And, of course, one of the reasons that sex workers are pariahs in the first place is that sex work is illegal.

"Absolutely. This petition going around says that Amnesty International is making no distinction between the abuses of human trafficking and sex work, and they absolutely are; they state it at least three times in the first two pages of their proposal report. The decriminalization of sex work does not mean that all of a sudden, Amnesty International is pro-trafficking or pro-sex-slavery... They very clearly outline the harms of criminalization of both clients and sex workers and say, 'Here are the benefits of a decriminalized model: harm reduction, access to social services, decreased social stigma, which is so systemically violent.' I doubt that people are really taking the time to read [the proposal].

"The anti-trafficking movement has done a pretty good job of discrediting the voices of sex workers... I've been accused of being part of some 'pimp lobby.' I think people think that we stand to make a lot of money off of the decriminalization of sex work; it's actually totally the opposite. I think all of us would take a pay cut if sex work was decriminalized. In places like New Zealand...where it's legalized or decriminalized, rates there are considerably lower than here in black-market America. That's because it's sensible, it's safer, more people are participating in it in a safe way."

What are opponents of the decriminalization of sex work missing here?

"I like to look at the war on drugs and also the gay rights movement as parallels to the sex worker rights movement, where criminalization's heavy stigma drives certain activities and behaviors underground. People don't talk about them, they don't have legal recourse with the police if something does happen to them — and there's a lack of peer support, community, education, and resources. It's easy for celebrities and also people who identify as feminist to hear this story of a massive, multi-billion-dollar sex industry based upon the rape of women and children and be like...'I am against that.' They're not really looking at the broader picture of root causes — of poverty, migrant labor inequality, and addiction.

"Often, when people look at the narrative of sex-trafficking victims, they look at it as this static moment in time, like, This person is suddenly swept off the street into this world of sex slavery, and it's like, no, this person had a life before this — what brought this person into a such a vulnerable state? When we talk about people who are vulnerable in the sex industry, we're talking about people who don't have any resources or opportunities. They may choose sex work as a means of surviving. Taking away that tool for survival is not going to help those people; they're still going to be disempowered and vulnerable — and that's not even to speak to the broader population of sex workers who are fine with their jobs [and] choose it as an occupation that suits their needs. I include myself among that population, and I know thousands of other sex workers [like that] at this point."