FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2018
Illinois Green Party
Secretary@ILGP.org
Green Party Rejects Sex Work Decriminalization Platform Plank; Doubles Down on "Nordic Model"
Proposal authored by Green Party sex workers fails to pass: "That's it for me" says one.
USA – At the close of voting on Sunday, a proposal to change the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) platform position on voluntary sex work to a decriminalization stance failed to pass. The party will retain its current platform language, which conflates voluntary sex work with human trafficking and calls for the "Nordic model" of criminalization.
Although a majority of delegates on the 160-member National Committee supported the move to a decriminalization stance, the 73-66 vote fell short of the 2/3 threshold, with 6 delegates casting an "abstain" vote and 15 non-voting delegates.
Sex worker members who helped draft the proposal reacted with disappointment, and with rejection of the party: "That's pretty much it for me," said a Chicago-based sex worker and Green Party member who wished to be identified only as T. "The Nordic model means my life right now is illegal. If that's the Green Party position on what my life should be, I don't want to be a Green."
The Nordic model has been criticized by sex workers, researchers, and health officials for increasing the risks of sex work and for treating mutual aid and support between sex workers (such as sharing room costs or client lists) as "pimping."
Decriminalization is widely recommended as a policy position on sex work by health and human rights groups that have studied the issue, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the ACLU, Anti-Slavery International and the Trafficking Policy Research Project, and by health organizations such as UNAIDS and the World Health Organization. Green Parties and elected Greens in other countries, including Brazil, Germany, France, Austria, Ukraine, Canada, England & Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, support decriminalization as well
Discussion on the GPUS National Committee (which does all official business via a roughly 350-member email listserv open to delegates and their appointed alternates) was dominated by a handful of "no" voices. More than a quarter of all messages related to the proposal during the mandatory four-week discussion period (roughly 150 posts and over 50 new email threads above and beyond the official discussion thread) came from three members opposed to the proposal, all white men with no experience in the sex industry.
The Illinois Green Party was one of five states co-sponsoring the measure, along with the party's Youth and LGBTQ+ caucuses.
The Green Party's decision means that the Libertarian Party will remain the only major United States political party to support sex work decriminalization (neither the Democrat nor Republican Party platforms address the issue).
The full roll call of the vote follows. For further information, contact the Illinois Green Party Secretary at secretary@ilgp.org or 773-809-4547.
Delegation | Vote | Delegate |
Black Caucus | Abstain | James Lane |
Louisiana | Abstain | Morgan Moss Jr |
Massachusetts | Abstain | Joanna Herlihy |
Missouri | Abstain | Ron Burch |
Washington | Abstain | Jody Grage |
West Virginia | Abstain | Frank Young |
Arizona | No | Claudia Ellquist |
Arkansas | No | Robin Rumph |
Black Caucus | No | Joy Davis |
California | No | Josefina Aranda |
California | No | Marla Bernstein |
California | No | Susan Chunco |
California | No | Sanda Everette |
California | No | Mike Feinstein |
California | No | Richard Gomez |
California | No | Lisa Hsu |
California | No | Tarik Kanaana |
California | No | Peggy Koteen |
California | No | Genevieve Marcus |
California | No | Bob Marsh |
California | No | Cordula Ohman |
California | No | Linda Piera-Avila |
California | No | Luci Riley |
California | No | Cynthia Santiago |
California | No | Phoebe Anne Sorgen |
Connecticut | No | Owen Charles |
Delaware | No | Bernie August |
Delaware | No | David McCorquodale |
District of Columbia | No | Jenefer Ellingston |
Florida | No | Henry Lawrence III |
Georgia | No | Qadija Tatum-Aamir |
Hawaii | No | Budd Dickinson |
Hawaii | No | N. Nikhilananda |
Indiana | No | Monica James |
Iowa | No | Florence Boos |
Iowa | No | Holly Hart |
Kansas | No | Nick Blessing |
Kansas | No | Paul Krumm |
Latinx Caucus | No | Tony Affigne |
Latinx Caucus | No | Darlene Elias |
Louisiana | No | Anika Ofori |
Maine | No | Jacqui Deveneau |
Maine | No | George Hamilton |
Maine | No | John Rensenbrink |
Maryland | No | Tim Willard |
Michigan | No | Linda Cree |
Michigan | No | John Early |
Michigan | No | LuAnne Kozma |
Michigan | No | Jennifer La Pietra |
Michigan | No | Jessica McCallie-Arquette |
Minnesota | No | Barb Huning |
Minnesota | No | Deanna Murphy |
Mississippi | No | Nekita Gandy |
Mississippi | No | Jan Hillegas |
Montana | No | Cheryl Wolfe |
Nebraska | No | Charles Ostdiek |
New Jersey | No | Craig Cayetano |
New Jersey | No | Kim Meudt |
New Mexico | No | Stephen Verchinski |
New York | No | Gil Obler |
Ohio | No | Philena Farley |
Ohio | No | Logan Martinez |
Oregon | No | Suzia Aufderheide |
Rhode Island | No | Nick Schmader |
Tennessee | No | Elizabeth Dachowski |
Tennessee | No | Howard Switzer |
Texas | No | Wesson Gaige |
Texas | No | Laura Palmer |
Utah | No | Dee Taylor |
Washington | No | Kathryn Lewandowsky |
Wisconsin | No | Bruce Hinkforth |
Women's Caucus | No | Ann Link |
Alabama | Yes | Tyler Henderson |
Alabama | Yes | Rebecca Saxon |
Arizona | Yes | Angel Torres |
Arkansas | Yes | Ryan Giglio |
California | Yes | Rodolfo Cortes Barragan |
California | Yes | Jose Trinidad Castaneda |
California | Yes | Darryl Cherney |
California | Yes | David Cobb |
California | Yes | Angelica Duenas |
California | Yes | Meleiza Figueroa |
California | Yes | Jared Laiti |
California | Yes | Erik Rydberg |
California | Yes | Jesse Townley |
Colorado | Yes | Vronique Bellamy |
Colorado | Yes | Stephen Molyneux |
Connecticut | Yes | S. Michael DeRosa |
Connecticut | Yes | Joshua Kelly |
District of Columbia | Yes | Justin McCarthy |
Florida | Yes | Robin Harris |
Florida | Yes | Elijah Manley |
Georgia | Yes | Preston Thacker |
Illinois | Yes | David Black |
Illinois | Yes | Chris Blankenhorn |
Illinois | Yes | Geoffrey Cubbage |
Illinois | Yes | Aaron Goldberg |
Illinois | Yes | Gini Lester |
Illinois | Yes | Mary Jane Oviatt |
Illinois | Yes | AJ Reed |
Illinois | Yes | Sheldon Schafer |
Illinois | Yes | Holly Scholz |
Kentucky | Yes | Kris Smoot |
Kentucky | Yes | Andi Wojciechowski |
Lavender Caucus | Yes | Mish Chavez |
Lavender Caucus | Yes | Margaret Elisabeth |
Maine | Yes | Lyn Maravell |
Maryland | Yes | Margaret Flowers |
Massachusetts | Yes | John Andrews |
Massachusetts | Yes | David Gerry |
Massachusetts | Yes | Juan Sanchez |
Michigan | Yes | Mike Zubas |
Minnesota | Yes | Andy Schuler |
Missouri | Yes | Alison Baldree |
Nebraska | Yes | Shane Fry |
Nevada | Yes | Teresa Frene |
New York | Yes | John Baldwin |
New York | Yes | Dani Liebling |
New York | Yes | Gloria Mattera |
New York | Yes | Michael O'Neil |
New York | Yes | Craig Seeman |
New York | Yes | Anya Szykitka |
North Carolina | Yes | Tommie James |
North Carolina | Yes | Michael Trudeau |
Ohio | Yes | Kevin Fay |
Oregon | Yes | Paul Loney |
Oregon | Yes | T. Oliver |
Pennsylvania | Yes | Christian Banchs |
Pennsylvania | Yes | Stuart Chen-Hayes |
Pennsylvania | Yes | Kristin Combs |
Pennsylvania | Yes | Beth Scroggin |
Rhode Island | Yes | Justin Lee Rossi |
South Carolina | Yes | Bill Kreml |
South Carolina | Yes | Jessica Lazenby |
South Carolina | Yes | David Whiteman |
Texas | Yes | Alison Bittick |
Texas | Yes | Adrian Boutureira |
Texas | Yes | Herb Gonzales |
Texas | Yes | Aaron Renaud |
Utah | Yes | Brendan Phillips |
Virginia | Yes | Montigue Magruder |
Virginia | Yes | Tina Rockett |
Women's Caucus | Yes | Jennifer Sullivan |
Youth Caucus | Yes | Zack Looney |
Youth Caucus | Yes | Natalia Schuurman |
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