HuffPost recently published a report about sex workers in Alaska who say they’ve been victimized by cops taking advantage of a legal loophole during investigations. The article details harrowing reports of officers abusing the law to sexually coerce and threaten sex workers and how advocacy groups are trying to make it illegal in Alaska. Jezebel explains:
According to HuffPost, in all 50 states it is currently legal for police officers to engage in “sexual contact” with sex workers who are under investigation. And now in Alaska, where sex workers report they are frequent targets of sexual abuse at the hands of the police, a bill is being introduced that could eliminate the loophole that makes sexual contact between police and suspects possible.
A story from HuffPost reports on the ways in which officers use this legal loophole to intimidate sex workers into having non-penetrative sex with them. In many stories a sex worker will meet up with someone they believe to be a client and masturbate or engage in oral sex with them before cops come in to arrest her.
Alaska State Rep. Matt Claman (D) introduced House Bill 112, which would make sexual assault against anyone suspected of a crime (like sex work) illegal. Due to opposition by the local police, there hasn’t been much progress on the bill.
Unfortunately, this is not a problem limited to Alaska. Sexual misconduct by police officers is a problem across the country. States have been slow to address this problem. Earlier this year, Michigan finally made it illegal for police officers to have penetrative sex with suspected sex workers.