Is The DNC Getting Sneaky With Sex Workers In 2024?

On Sunday, the day before the start of the U.S. Democratic National Convention, the DNC released its official platform for the upcoming American presidential election. Interestingly enough, the language the party officially has stated over sex workers has changed.

What it was and what it now is

Both the 2020 and 2024 DNC platforms support sections titled “Ending Violence Against Women."

The language in 2020 stated: “We recognize that sex workers, who are disproportionately women of color and transgender women, face especially high rates of sexual assault and violence, and we will work with states and localities to protect the lives of sex workers.” The 2024 platform omits the statement recognizing the existence of sex workers and stating a commitment to protect their lives.

So, just what is happening here, and what does Vice President Kamala Harris support?

Harris’s history

As reported here, Kamala Harris has some interesting history when it comes to sex workers and the question of free speech as it applies to subjects of a sexual nature and cultural health.

As San Francisco District Attorney and California Attorney General, Harris supported FOSTA-SESTA, a bill earning a lot of criticism from sex workers.

Specifically, FOSTA-SESTA amends Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, making computer service providers accountable for the content posted on their websites. FOSTA-SESTA comes down especially hard on anything on a site that is considered to advertise prostitution or sex work. But by cracking down on these sites, sex workers have claimed that FOSTA-SESTA truncated the areas where they could advertise, making them do so in not-so-safe spaces.  

Harris is also a supporter of the Kids Online Safety Act or KOSA, which has been routinely criticized for free speech issues and what it blocks young people from in its stated purpose of protecting them.

Lastly, Harris was instrumental in her years working in the "City by the Bay" in shutting down Backpage, another place where sex workers advertised.

The Nordic Model

Just as Donald Trump might indeed be setting up to implement Project 2025’s view of pornography, as well as a surely conservative agenda, critics, as well as even the most casual viewer of political doings, have claimed that Harris adheres to what is called The Nordic Model when it comes to sex work.

Using outdated words like “johns” and “pimps,” plus her record above, Harris might indeed be following this Swedish-born model/approach where sex work was wholly criminalized in that country in 1999. The main objective of the model is to abolish the sex industry by punishing the purchase of sexual services, therefore making working in the field ever more difficult.

As of 2023, eight countries and one state have adopted the Nordic model in part or in full.

What all these questions and concerns reveal is that all of us, no matter what side of the political fence one happens to be on, and no matter where one happens to be living, need be ever vigilant and aware of what our lawmakers might be taking of our freedoms even when they claim they are not taking anything at all.