Opinion: Oregon continues to turn a blind eye on the ongoing sex trafficking crisis stemming from prostitution, disproportionately affecting communities of color. 
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As the 2023 legislative session wraps up, Gov. Tina Kotek carries out a list of vetoes to decide what will go into law in the subsequent year. During the deliberations, Kotek line vetoed SB 5506, a proposal to appropriate $100,000 to a state study to decriminalize sex work and prostitution from the state’s general fund.
After the bill’s initial proposal, there was a debate in the House and Senate, but it eventually passed both chambers of the Oregon Legislature. However, Kotek’s veto has stopped such efforts to decriminalize sex work.
One of the leading champions for this bill, Senator Elizabeth Steiner, said, “It’s possible that if sex work were not criminal, then people who get trafficked would feel more comfortable going to law enforcement, or sex workers who get assaulted would feel more comfortable going to law enforcement.”
These following reasons demonstrate why the continued criminalization of sex work will continue to hurt the most vulnerable communities in Oregon, and how Kotek’s veto to not appropriate funds can lead to a worsening crisis.
Human and sex trafficking rates remain high in Oregon, with 177 recorded signals received 2021 from sex trafficked victims and survivors. Oregon National Trafficking Hotline Statistics stated there were 13 hotel-based cases, 13 pornography cases and 90 others. According to the hotline demographics, most victims of sex trafficking and forced sexual exploitation remain women and girls. Additionally, due to the nature of human and sex trafficking, data can frequently go unreported, making the actual number of cases higher.

The American Civil Liberties Unionalso released a report regarding the status of decriminalization of sex work in 2020, covering various cases and international studies. According to data analysts, “Clients know they can rob, assault, or even murder a sex worker — and get away with it — because sex workers cannot rely upon protections from the law.”

Those who get trafficked for sexual exploitation can find it difficult or nearly impossible to contact law enforcement for legal help. Sex workers also face higher rates of sexual assault under a criminalized status.

In Rhode Island, there was a study conducted on “indoor prostitution” from 1980 to 2009, during which there was a switch in policy to loosen criminalization policies. After decriminalization, there was a 30% decrease in reported rape offenses from the sex workers. This demonstrates how decriminalization policies benefit the overall wellbeing of sex workers.

Due to Kotek’s veto, Oregon cannot conduct similar studies to look into the extent of damage to the state’s most vulnerable populations. Although Kotek had acknowledged the importance of this study, she mentioned that it should be privately funded.
However, private funding can often fail to bring succinct change and carry the urgency of the critical issue to the highest forms of government. Leaving the study to be conducted by a private firm sets no tight timeline, disregarding the urgency of the current unprotected status of sex workers in Oregon.
The criminalization of sex work is also an issue of equity. Those forced into sex work are disproportionately people of color, and sex work can further marginalize these groups.
Vanessa Warri is an advocate and strategist for Black transgender women, the queer community and other oppressed identities. Warri has continuously spoken about the dangers of criminalizing sex work and the pressing need for decriminalization. 
“[Decriminalizing sex work] does mean the most marginalized members of our society, who are criminalized simply for their existence, are not discriminated against simply for trying to survive,” Warri said.
The decision not to fund the study can seriously impact the future of carrying out similar policies around the status of sex workers in Oregon. Other states — such as Hawaii, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts — have moved on with various legislation that would decriminalize multiple aspects of sex work and study the impacts further. 

Oregon could have joined that list; however, due to one signature, progress stalled.