Duanna Johnson, anyone?

[counterblast]

I was wondering if anyone had head about Duanna Johnson, a trans woman of color from Tennessee who was assaulted by a police officer after being arrested on a prostitution charge, and mysteriously murdered "execution style" when she filed a lawsuit against the police department?

I just recently became aware of her story through an email list.

February 12th turned out to be a terrible night for Duanna Johnson.
The first bummer came when the transgendered Memphis resident got nabbed for prostitution.
Then, as if that's not bad enough, she ended up getting assaulted by a police officer.

Actually, not even assaulted – straight up beat down:

The officer hit Johnson several times with the handcuffs wrapped around his knuckles. In the video, you can see the flash of the metal. The tape shows another officer holding Johnson's shoulders as she tries to protect herself.
…
Then he maced her. On the tape, other people in the room are seen turning away and fanning their hands because of the smell.

So, what brought on this ferocious attack? We'll let Johnson explain:

…He was trying to get me to come over to where he was, and I responded by telling him that wasn't my name – that my mother didn't name me a 'faggot' or a 'he-she,' so he got upset and approached me. And that's when it started.

You can watch footage of the beating of Duanna Johnson in its entirety here. (It is pretty graphic and might be triggering to victims of sexual assault, police brutality, or domestic abuse)

+ YouTube Video

After this happened, Duanna recieved calls from other transgendered womyn and sex workers who were also abused at the hands of the Memphis Police Department, and decided to file a lawsuit against them.

Meanwhile, the FBI and police internal affairs took interest in her case, eventually filing a lawsuit on the grounds that Duanna's civil rights had been violated.

But Duanna was tragically and suspiciously murdered according coroner reports, "execution-style, of a military or police nature", only a block from her home, only a week before her case against the police was supposed to go to trial.

Her murderer still has not been found, and supposedly the murder solve rate in Memphis is 90%.

But her case doesn't end there.

This past week, the police officer who beat her, and who many people think killed her was on trial for civil right violations -- a verdict that could have barred him from working in law enforcement again. But he was aquitted because of a hung jury. 11 out of 12 jurors thought that he was guilty, but one did not.

Apparently the Black and transgendered community in Memphis are outraged at the verdict, and have been speaking out.

While searching for more information about her, I found this video on queer anarchist group Bash Back's blog of an transgendered anarchist condemning the murder and the police:

+ YouTube Video

I guess what I'm wondering, is how Duanna and women like her factor into this notion of "we're liberating women by outlawing sex work" or "outlawing sex protects women from abuse" that seems to be prevalent among a lot of people calling themselves radical feminists on this forum?

How was Duanna and other women like her, who are every day, forcibly intergrated into the prison industrial complex and unjust legal system, liberated or benefitted by the illegalization of sex work?

[gorillafuck]

Oh god, I never heard of that.

I absolutely hate that things like this don't ever make the mainstream news.

[counterblast]

Oh god, I never heard of that.

I absolutely hate that things like this don't ever make the mainstream news.

Thats how I felt when I found out.

I spent two hours trying to piece all the events together on my own.

[cska]

What the fuck? How is a hung jury (11 out of 12 in favor of guilty) an acquital? It isn't going to retrial? I'd be happy if that police officer turned up dead one day.

[¿Que?]

To answer the OP's question, I would say sex work is a form of exploitation, similar to, but not exactly like other forms of wage slavery. Sex work, by its nature, is not too far from, but quite a bit more degrading than for example service industry work. In both cases, the individual's personality is considered only insofar as it assists in meeting an end, namely the satisfaction of the client/customer. The service/sex worker is not supposed to voice controversial opinions or those deemed antagonistic to the client/customer. However, sex work is entirely more degrading as it involves not just individual servitude of labor, but of the worker's very biological being. I know, it is a bit of a blurry difference between selling one's labor (as in body) in the form of physical exertion (say in the case of a waiter or doorman) as opposed to selling one's body itself in the form of a sexual act. I would say the two are qualitatively different, although I am hard pressed as to exactly why...

That said, the answer does not lie in outlawing sex work. This just makes it more dangerous for the sex worker. They are more liable to enter into seedy deals with pimps who end up ripping them off and essentially confining them into a life of absolute servitude (to boss and client). Sex work should enjoy all the benefits of legal work, such as unions, minimum wage laws, compensation if hurt on the job etc. This is, of course, until a new society can be ushered in in which the exploitative nature of sex work becomes obsolete.

Lastly, I would like to mention a necessary consequence of sex work, which is the illegal trade in women and children. This should not be legal, however, I do believe that by legalizing and regulating sex work, that illegal human trafficking will be reduced. The reason is simple. If there are laws protecting sex workers, rather than criminalizing it, then those laws can be extended to human trafficking. Currently, when a cop busts a prostitute, he does not, nor can he make a distinction between those who are being illegally coerced and those who are doing it for other reasons.

The answer is to reform the system for the benefit of the workers themselves until a new social order can be created through revolution, just like in any other situation involving exploitation.