Old language on sex work is officially gone from the Burlington city charter. Now what?

Old language about sex work has been officially removed from Burlington's city charter.

On June 7, Gov. Phil Scott approved bill H.746, which repeals Burlington City Council's power to "restrain and suppress houses of ill fame and disorderly houses, and to punish common prostitutes and persons consorting therewith."

The bill was introduced after Burlington citizens voted 69% in favor of the charter change on Town Meeting Day.

The legislation changes language in the city charter, but doesn't change how sex work is criminalized under Vermont law.

Being a sex worker and soliciting sex work are both still misdemeanor crimes across Vermont, except for in "good Samaritan" cases, in which a sex worker is reporting a crime.

However, the charter change has removed language that perpetuated stigma around sex work, said Safe Sex Work VT, an advocacy organization led by Vermont sex workers who support the decriminalization of sex work between consenting adults.

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"Significantly, the overwhelming support in favor of the amendment demonstrates that voters and legislators can distinguish between consensual adult sex work and the horrific crime of human trafficking," Safe Sex Work VT said in a press release.

Opponents of the bill included the advocacy organization New Englanders Against Sexual Exploitation, who say on their website that "Human trafficking and prostitution are intrinsically connected."

This perspective on sex work and trafficking is opposed by the Ishtar Collective, a Vermont advocacy and mutual aid organization of sex workers and trafficking survivors.

"We are asking our neighbors to recognize us as deserving of dignity and bodily autonomy," said Ishtar Collective member Henri June Bynx in a press release. "This charter change is a vital step towards improving the health and safety of individuals who engage in sex work consensually and those who are trafficked into it."

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In a November 2021 interview with the Burlington Free Press, Bynx said the stigma around sex work can have material consequences for sex workers.

"I have neighbors in Vermont who have been terminated from their day jobs because it got out that somebody was on OnlyFans," said Bynx, referencing the online platform where many sex workers post content.

"One day in my life, I (hope I) can be out and not have to think about whether or not my neighbors are going to be calling my landlord saying, 'Get the dirty whore out of the apartment complex,'" Bynx said.

Housing insecurity is a common issue faced by sex workers who face criminalization and stigma, according to a 2020 publication by Yale University's Global Health Justice Partnership.

In 2008-2009, the nonprofit National Center for Transgender Equality surveyed 6,400 transgender adults across the U.S., nearly 700 of whom identified as having been a sex worker at some point in their lives.

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Over 39% of sex worker respondents reported being denied access to a shelter, compared to 17% of people who had never been sex workers. Over 35% of sex workers reported being thrown out of a shelter, compared to 13% of non-sex workers.

Contact April Fisher at amfisher@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AMFisherMedia

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Sex work language charter change in Burlington: what does it mean?