,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cafe ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #h1 #bjbj,ms4 ,warren 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 and ,mr4 ,sanders7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services to conduct a study to assess the unintended impacts on the health and safety of people engaged in transactional sex1 in connection with the enactment of the ,allow ,states and ,victims to ,fight ,online ,sex ,trafficking ,act of #bjag 7,public ,law #aae-afd7 and the loss of interactive computer services that host information related to sexual exchange1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,sesta_/,,fosta ,examination of ,secondary ,effects for ,sex ,workers ,study ,act or the ,,safe ,,sex ,workers ,study ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,people who engage in consensual1 transactional sex utilize online platforms to protect their health1 safety1 and independence4 ,this use includes building community connections1 distribution of harm reduction information and techniques1 identification and screening of potential clients1 and negotiating the terms of consensual1 transactional sex services1 including condom use and other harm reduction strategies4 7#b7 ,widespread discrimination against populations1 including ,,lgbtqi individuals1 particularly transgender women of color1 prevents many from accessing formal employment resources and educational opportunities4 7#c7 ,in the #bjae ,united ,states ,transgender ,survey conducted by the ,national ,center for ,transgender ,equality1 #ai percent of respondents reported having exchanged sex for resources1 such as for money1 food1 or a place to sleep4 ,transgender women of color1 including ,black 7#db percent71 ,american ,indian 7#bh percent71 multiracial 7#bg percent71 ,latina 7#bc percent71 and ,asian 7#bb percent7 respondents were more likely to have participated in sex work than the overall sample4 7#d7 ,in the #bjae ,united ,states ,transgender ,survey1 respondents who experienced homelessness in the past year 7#ag percent7 were more than three times as likely to have participated in sex work during that year compared to the overall sample4 7#e7 ,on a broader scale1 internet platforms foster connections between people and play an integral part in ,american society4 ,meaningful regulation of internet platforms must take into account the role they play in the health1 safety1 and privacy of all people's lives4 7#f7 ,while policymakers1 representatives of internet platforms1 and some advocates have discussed ways to mitigate the use of internet platforms to decrease exploitation1 people who consensually trade sex are rarely involved in the drafting of legislation or policies1 or in assessing their impact1 despite being amongst the populations who are impacted by legislation and policies related to the regulation of these internet platforms4 7#g7 ,on ,february #bg1 #bjah1 the ,house of ,representatives passed the ,allow ,states to ,fight ,online ,sex ,trafficking ,act1 known as ,,sesta_/,,fosta4 ,while ,,sesta_/,,fosta holds websites liable for user-generated content that facilitates sex trafficking1 it also impacts online platforms where users discuss consensual sex work and related topics4 7#h7 ,contemporaneously with the passage of ,,sesta_/,,fosta in the ,senate on ,march #ba1 #bjah1 websites preemptively shut down1 some directly citing the law's passage as the rationale for closure4 7#i7 ,one week before ,president ,donald ,trump signed ,,sesta_/,,fosta into law 7,public ,law #aae-afd71 the ,department of ,justice seized ,backpage4com and arrested ,backpage employees1 citing promotion of prostitution and money laundering charges1 similar to the ,department of ,homeland ,security's seizure of ,rentboy4com only a few years prior4 7#aj7 ,while these websites and individual accounts have been closing down1 there has been no national investigation rigorously examining the impact of losing access to these platforms on the health and safety of people in consensual1 transactional sex work4 ,regional and anecdotal information from health and safety service providers and sex workers has pointed to significant impacts on the health and safety of people who engage in consensual1 transactional sex4 7#aa7 ,community organizations have reported increased homelessness of sex workers1 including of sex workers who are caretakers for their families and have lost the economic stability provided by access to online platforms4 7#ab7 ,sex workers have reported a reduced ability to screen potential clients for safety1 and negotiate for boundaries such as condom use1 resulting in reports of physical and sexual violence4 7#ac7 ,many sex workers have turned to street-based work1 which has historically involved higher rates of violence than other forms of transactional sex4 ,street-based sex workers have frequently noted practices which harm their health and safety1 such as the confiscation of condoms by police1 or use of condoms as evidence of arrest for prostitution4 7#ad7 ,with this new level of precarity1 isolation1 and vulnerability1 there is substantial anecdotal evidence that members of the sex work community are more frequently being contacted by third parties seeking to engage in management activities4 ,this includes both sex workers who had always worked independently1 as well as those who have previously experienced violence and exploitation by a third party4 7#ae7 ,the ,united ,states ,government has long discussed the importance of assessing collateral consequences when looking at other industries4 ,a comprehensive study is essential to evaluate the impact on the health and safety of those involved in consensual1 transactional sex1 who are increasingly losing access to digital platforms1 which have been used for harm reduction information and techniques1 and to screen clients4 ,informed government policies begin with seeking out relevant information to better guide our actions moving forward4 #c4 ,study on unintended impacts on health and safety of people engaged in transactional sex as a result of the loss of certain online resources 7a7 ,study ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services 7in this section referred to as the ,secretary7 in consultation as appropriate with the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 the ,director of the ,national ,institutes of ,health1 and the ,assistant ,secretary for ,mental ,health and ,substance ,use shall study the impacts on the health and safety of people engaged in transactional sex resulting from the loss of access to interactive computer services 7as defined in section #bcj7;f7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bcj7;f777 in connection with the closure of websites 7including ,backpage4com7 that host information related to sexual exchange1 on or after ,february #bg1 #bjah1 in anticipation of1 or in response to1 the enactment of the ,allow ,states and ,victims to ,fight ,online ,sex ,trafficking ,act of #bjag 7,public ,law #aae-afd74 7b7 ,interviews and surveys ,the study under subsection 7a7 shall include interviews with1 and surveys conducted by1 nonprofit and community-based organizations that provide direct services to people engaged in transactional sex4 7c7 ,topics ,the study under subsection 7a7 shall include assessment of the following impacts on people engaged in transactional sex3 7#a7 ,changes in access to technology-related harm reduction services4 7#b7 ,changes in ability to negotiate terms with potential clients4 7#c7 ,changes in experiences of violence from clients4 7#d7 ,changes in interactions with law enforcement officials1 including changes in police surveillance1 stops1 and arrests4 7#e7 ,changes in contact from third parties4 7#f7 ,changes in relationship to and reliance on third parties4 7#g7 ,changes in experiences of exploitation4 7#h7 ,impacts on access to economic resources4 7#i7 ,impacts on homelessness and housing stability4 7#aj7 ,impacts on mental health4 7#aa7 ,impacts on vulnerability to the transmission of ,,hiv and other sexually transmitted infections4 7#ab7 ,changes in participation in other criminalized behavior4 7#ac7 ,disparities in these effects on key populations typically underserved by service providers1 specifically ,,lgbtqi individuals1 people living in rural areas1 racial and ethnic minorities1 ,tribal communities1 individuals experiencing exploitation and trafficking1 and undocumented and documented foreign nationals4 7#ad7 ,any other impacts on people engaged in consensual1 transactional sex1 as determined appropriate by the ,secretary for inclusion in the study4 7d7 ,report ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,congress a report on the results of the study under subsection 7a7 and make such report available to the public4