Letter to editors of the New York Daily News

In response to a July, 13th New York Daily News news article reporting on the arrest of Monica Gonzales for alleged prostitution — charges that were subsequently dropped, and that were apparently brought simply because Ms. Gonzalez was walking in an area targeted by the police for prostitution arrests — members of swop-nyc have sent the following statement to the editors of the Daily News:

The unfortunate arrest of Ms. Gonzalez brings to light a fundamental
flaw in the laws that govern prostitution in New York State. Herein, a
police officer may arrest a person for loitering for the purposes of
prostitution with only “probable cause” as their grounds for doing so.
In many cases, like that of Ms. Gonzalez, people are charged,
stigmatized, and sometimes made the focus of media attention, simply
for making certain gestures, being on a certain street or dressing in
a certain way. In short, non-criminal behaviors and people can be and
regularly are arrested simply because the police don’t like the looks
of them. Of course, those who bear the brunt of these oppressive
practices often already face discrimination on the basis of their
race, sexual and/or gender identity, and economic class. It is high
time that this crime be removed from the law books, so that Ms.
Gonzalez and others like her are no longer victimized by abuses of
police power.
Maryse Mitchell-Brody
Sex Workers Outreach Project - NYC