by Alison Bass | Jan 27, 2016 | human trafficking, law enforcement, prostitution, public health, sex trafficking, sex work, Uncategorized
In early January, law enforcement in the Seattle area shut down a popular website used by sex workers to advertise their services and by customers to review sex workers. Police also raided a number of luxury apartments in Bellevue where women were allegedly selling...
by Alison Bass | Jan 7, 2016 | Crime, law enforcement, prostitution, public health, sex work
One of the questions I am often asked by journalists who interview me about my book, Getting Screwed: Sex Workers and the Law is: Do you think society’s attitudes toward prostitution will ever evolve to the point where lawmakers might actually introduce legislation...
by Alison Bass | Dec 15, 2015 | law enforcement, prostitution, public health, sex work, underage prostitution
In a rare case of justice being served, a police officer was convicted last week of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault on black women who lived in a low-income neighborhood of Oklahoma City. Daniel Holtzclaw, a 29-year-old police officer of white and Japanese...
by Alison Bass | Nov 18, 2015 | human trafficking, prostitution, public health, sex work, Uncategorized
My book, Getting Screwed: Sex Workers and the Law, seems to be generating interest among the artsy, progressive crowd, judging by the attendance at recent talks I’ve given and the nice review of the book on WBUR radio’s ARTery site. On Nov. 3, nearly 100...
by Alison Bass | Oct 25, 2015 | human trafficking, media coverage, prostitution, public health, sex trafficking, sex work, Uncategorized, underage prostitution
When it comes to the coverage of sex work or trafficking, the mainstream media often seems to forget a basic journalistic principle — the need to get their facts straight. Here are two recent examples from supposedly top-notch purveyors of journalism. This week,...
by Alison Bass | Oct 20, 2015 | prostitution, public health, sex trafficking, sex work, trafficking, Uncategorized
My book tour seems to be off to a good start. Getting Screwed: Sex Workers and the Law sold out on Amazon three days after its official release Oct. 6 and only today has the online retailer finally caught up with the demand. On Oct. 12, about 50 people showed up at...
by Alison Bass | Sep 14, 2015 | prostitution, public health, sex work, Uncategorized
I read Mary Mitchell’s column in the Chicago Sun Times this weekend with mounting disbelief and disgust. It’s hard to believe that in 2015 a news columnist, an African-American woman no less, was arguing that a sex worker raped at gunpoint by a client was...
by Alison Bass | Aug 30, 2015 | Uncategorized
I was interviewed on HuffPost Live about the recent Rentboy raid and its implications for sex workers. You can view the video below or use the direct link provided: http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/homeland-security-rentboy-raid/55d7f4be78c90a7f88000522 Click...
by Alison Bass | Aug 26, 2015 | prostitution, public health, sex trafficking, sex work, trafficking, Uncategorized, underage prostitution
This week, federal and state law enforcement officials shut down the well-known website, Rentboy.com, which provided a venue for thousands of gay escorts to post ads and screen potential clients. In a raid on the site’s headquarters in New York City, the officers...
by Alison Bass | Aug 2, 2015 | human trafficking, media coverage, prostitution, public health, sex trafficking, sex work, trafficking, Uncategorized, underage prostitution
Now that Amnesty International seems to be getting behind the movement to decriminalize sex work, the issue is finally getting some attention in the mainstream press. But as usual the media, or at least this article in the New York Times, has got some of its facts...
