T he Florida legislature passed legislation within the past week, Senate Bill and House Bill , to establish a public database that tracks people convicted of, or who have pleaded guilty to, soliciting paid sex. Book in a press release. Savannah Parvu, an anti-sex-trafficking advocate and survivor who advised Rep. Fitzenhagen on the bill, emphasizes that the bill is focused on sex trafficking, but notes that that sex workers are perhaps acceptable collateral.
By including anyone convicted of soliciting paid sex, the database could further punish and stigmatize clientsβwrongly conflating people who pay for sex with sexual predators. A lost job could result in losing health insurance benefits. They may not be able to get another job because they are on this registry. It perpetuates poverty.
Our legislators need to listen to sex workers and victims of trafficking. Fitzenhagen said in a March House subcommittee hearing. In contrast, Sen. But Book still pushed the Database through. Subcommittee hearings were hot with friction between activists and elected officials, and the Database itself did not have a straight shot through the House.
Fitzenhagen did not respond to requests for comment. This falls in line with what Dr. Our legislators need to listen to sex workers and victims of trafficking when they tell us to stop these arrests. Rory Fleming, a lawyer and Filter contributor who has been involved in the activist organizing around the Database legislation, suspects that Rep. The Database returned to the House version of the bill on May 3, while the Senate version had retained it all along. The Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill, and the House almost did so, with only Rep.
Now that it is clear that state congress members have made up their minds, activists urge Governor Ron DeSantis to veto the legislation.
