The Equality Model in MA (EMMA) Coalition is a Survivor-led, community effort that works to dismantle systems of violence against prostituted people through the implementation of the Equality Model.
Sadly, you can search for almost any woman or girl's name and find someone who has been harmed, disappeared, or murdered because of the sex trade. Buyers, exploiters, and traffickers use prostitution as a means to dehumanize and take advantage of people in vulnerable situations and profit off the sale of their bodies; with women and girls of color and/or low income backgrounds and LGBTQ+ youth disproportionately impacted.
Our name is EMMA to honor the missing and murdered; the nameless and the names we hide because of the daily harm and stigma placed on Survivors by society. The EMMA Coalition stands for all the voices that have been silenced because of the sex trade. We honor their names privately and work publicly to diminish and eliminate the violence of prostitution from Massachusetts and beyond.
Learn about our legislative advocacy, below.
Our Legislative Advocacy for the Equality Model
An Act to Strengthen Justice and Support for Sex Trade Survivors
Overview of Legislation
The Equality Model is a comprehensive approach to abolishing the sex trade by repealing laws that criminalize people in prostitution and reduce the demand for prostitution by penalizing and holding accountable buyers, exploiters, and traffickers.
This legislation will decriminalize the selling of sex but maintain criminality for buyers of sex and for exploiters/traffickers and facilitators who profit from the sex trade. Fines collected from these offenses would be used to support survivor-led organizations and exit programming.
Decriminalizes People in Prostitution
• Repeals the crime of selling sex, including common night walking and street walking.
Advances Criminal Justice Reform
• Expunges the criminal records of trafficking and sex trade Survivors for all previous prostitution charges.
• A sliding scale of income-based fines collected from buyers will be directed to Survivor-led organizations.
Establishes Interagency Committee
• The committee would operate within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and representatives would include MOVA, government agencies (including mental health, housing, and children/families), survivor-led organizations across the state, LGBTQ+ organizations, healthcare, and the Office of Refugees and Immigrants, as well as a victim witness advocate.
• The committee would be tasked with coordinating prevention and awareness campaigns, education, addressing long-term housing needs and employment needs, assisting existing organizations, looking at the relation of substance use, coordinating the allocation of resources, looking at underlying problems, and making recommendations, among other efforts.
Join us. Sign on as a supporter.
