In July, law enforcement in New Hampshire raided massage parlors in Concord and Exeter. Two women were arrested and charged with prostitution-related offenses. A man, identified as a client, reportedly blew a kiss at the women and walked away without being charged.

It is a vivid and disturbing image that reflects the realities of our criminalization laws. While we are told that the intent is to protect the women involved in sex work, in reality, they end up harming sex workers and survivors of trafficking the most. If, as news reports suggest, this was in fact part of a trafficking ring, then those women were not criminals at all. They were victims — people who should have been offered safety, protection, and resources, not handcuffs. Treating trafficked individuals as criminals only deep

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