Maggie McNeill on How the Study Linking Prostitution, Rape, and STIs in Rhode Island Is Wrong

Earlier this year, a study from researchers Scott
Cunningham and Manisha Shah showed that in 2004-2009, Rhode Island
experienced a steep decline in cases of rape and gonorrhea. The
authors attribute this to the fact that prostitution was
decriminalized in Rhode Island during this time period. The study
was widely reported, with outlets from The
Washington Post to Vox chirping
about the unintended but happy effects of that time “Rhode Island
accidentally legalized prostitution.”

But there’s a problem with these statements, notes Maggie
McNeill: the “accidental” decriminalization was nothing of the
kind. In July 1976, the first sex-worker
rights organization, COYOTE, filed a lawsuit challenging the
Rhode Island law which criminalized the sale or purchase of
sex by consenting adults. In May 1980, the state legislature
settled the case by amending the law so as to render the issues
raised in the lawsuit moot. There was nothing remotely
accidental about this process, McNeill points out . And
there’s no reason to think that the arbitrary time period
researchers studied should be significant to anyone who was
actually buying or selling sex throughout the 23 years
prior. 

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