The term 鈥減rostitution鈥� refers to any exchange of sex for material benefit and exists on a spectrum of exploitation. At one end are women, men, and transgender individuals who freely choose to engage in . At the other end of the spectrum are victims and survivors of sex trafficking. These women, men, transgender individuals and children are prostituted against their will through force, fraud, or coercion.
Conflation of sex work and sex trafficking often leads to policies that criminalize prostitution, to violence and exploitation. Meanwhile, the distinct needs of trafficking survivors are ignored in favor of 鈥渄emand reduction鈥� programs that target purchasers of commercial sex. These programs have not had any and, in fact, that the programs are ostensibly intended to help.
