Flutterby™! : Craigslist and violence against women

Craigslist’s Effect on Violence Against Women, Scott Cunningham, Baylor University; Gregory DeAngelo, Claremont Graduate University; John Tripp, Baylor University

Black market participants face considerable risks when providing illegal services, but sex workers are perhaps the most vulnerable due to serious threats of deadly violence. Investigative journalism and anecdotal evidence have reported that sex workers perceived significant safety benefits from advertising and screening customers using Craigslist’s “erotic services” (ERS) section, which was used almost exclusively by sex workers offering illegal sex services. Protected by the Communications Decency Act, Craigslist expanded ERS from 2002 to 2010, ultimately providing the service in every market that Craigslist served. Using the geographically-staggered rollout of ERS, we estimate that ERS reduced the female homicide rate by 10-17 percent, with the reduction driven by street prostitution moving indoors and by helping sex workers to screen out the most dangerous clients. These results suggest that there may be adverse safety consequences that result from the 2018 passage of the “Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA), which led to the closure of almost all websites that US sex workers had previously used for online solicitation and safety screening.

Let's repeat that: availability of the Craigslist Erotic Services "... reduced the female homicide rate by 10-17 percent ...".

As the various front-runners for the Presidential nomination start to ramp up their campaigns, can we hold their feet to the fire over their support for SESTA and/or FOSTA and get a firm commitment that they'll do better?