Sex Work IsSues

Harm Reduction Hawaii is actively involved in educating the public on the facts about the sex industry. Two large controversies dominate the international discourse on these topics. One is the extent of sex trafficking and the other is what government policies should be adopted concerning this industry. In this section we offer several resources.  

One needs to understand the complexities and many variations in the storylines of persons who have been wrapped up in the sex trades/industry.  Media’s obsessive focus on providing a single dominant narrative of a young cis-gender female being controlled by an abusive pimp/trafficker, doesn’t help understand the how’s and whys of those situations or shed any light on many others.  Other problems such as drug abuse/addiction, STD/AIDS risks, dangerous men who approach to purchase sex, and dealing with the criminal justice system also need attention.  Harm reductionists may look at our Hawaii laws governing prostitution and cringe.  They seem to be a collection of politically motivated, moralizing, punitive sanctions, which create rather than address harms. Statutes aimed at the goals of protecting youth or punishing traffickers do not seem effective at all. 

Harm reductionists seek to create a panoply of services and sanctions that have actual positive effects on the risks and harms currently seen within the sex trades/industry. Getting to this point requires honest, civil people from various areas of expertise to work together and for their ultimate work product to be supported by the local media and legislature.