Sex Work and Trafficking Policy Impact Committee Meeting

December 10, 2018          11:00 am – 12:30 pm  

Department on the Status of Women

25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 240, San Francisco, CA

Attendees:

Saerom Choi, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach

Minouche Kandel, Department on the Status of Women

Carol Leigh, BAYSWAN

Pike Long, St James Infirmary

alix lutnick, individual

Kyoko Peterson, Department on the Status of Women

Sneh Rao, Human Rights Commission 

 

Meeting Minutes

 

I.Introductions/Check In [Saerom Choi]

a.Saerom lead a trauma informed check in.

 

2. Identifying Committee Co-Chairs
   1. The Committee still needs an additional co-chair. Saerom Choi is already a co-chair.

 

3. FOSTA/SESTA Position Paper Vote Results/Debrief
   1. Saerom went over the results of the FOSTA/SESTA paper vote. Members discussed the dynamic in the room and the statements that were made. Some members felt that the discussion highlighted the need for intersectionality training. Members also discussed possible reasons why agencies made the decision to abstain. Funding relationships and relationships with collaborators were discussed as possible reasons.
   2. Members discussed strategies for informing people about why the Sex Work and Trafficking Policy Impact committee exists, so that new members will understand. One idea was a values statement for the general Task Force, which new members will read and agree to when they join the Task Force.  It was decided that the committee would try to come up with their own values statement before the strategic planning retreat in 2019. A possible code of conduct for the Task Force was also discussed.
   3. There was also a discussion of inviting people/organizations to participate in this committee and reaching out to other committees. Having members of this committee attend different committee meetings was one idea.

 

4. Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy Outreach/Training Update
   1. Members are still trying to work on a video training on the Safety for Sex Workers Policy. Someone needs to work on script.
   2. Outreach:
      1. Minouche Kandel is speaking with a Buzzfeed reporter who is interested in doing an article about the policy. She also is meeting with a committee of the Berkeley Police Commission, which is interested in having a similar policy for Berkeley.
      2. alix lutnick spoke with Senator Scott Weiner’s staff about possible legislation. One possible legislation would be about the ability to use condoms as evidence.
      3. Pike Long discussed outreach by St James to sex workers in the Mission. Since the Sex Worker Abatement Task Force started, they have many fewer contacts with workers than before the Sex Worker Abatement Task Force was in place. However, they have seen an increase in workers between when the Sex Worker Abatement Task Force first started and now, so it seems like people are coming back. Members also discussed interest in getting numbers from the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program about how many workers are getting sent to the program.

 

5. Reflecting on 2018; Setting Goals for 2019; Dates
   1. Potential rooms and dates for the 2019 meetings were discussed. Department on the Status of Women staff will check the scheduling of other meetings and follow up with the committee.

 

MEETING FOLLOW-UP

Action Item	Person Responsible	Timeline
Set meeting dates and locations for 2019	Minouche Kandel	Before 2019