1 Regulating Sex Work Adrienne D. Davis VERY ROUGH DRAFT ...

actually gives sex workers themselves the ability to help establish the standards that will
govern the profession.
This leads to yet another regulatory option, self-regulation. As described above,
pornography has been emblematic of self-regulation, and indeed, holds itself up as a
poster child for that approach. [fill in]
In addition to jurisdiction, a second possibility suggested by the California condom
controversy is the creation of a dedicated agency to administer the regulation. Sex
workers themselves endorse such a turn. Several organizations have urged creating
separate and discrete agencies and commissions to monitor the sex work industry. The
World Charter for Prostitutes’ Rights urges, “There should be a committee to insure the
protection of the rights of prostitutes and to whom prostitutes can address their
complaints. This committee must be comprised of prostitutes and other professionals like
lawyers and supporters.” 308 Exotic dancing organizations largely concur: “Provisions
exist under the Occupational Health and Safety Act that are relevant to club owners and
dancers. The current requirements, however, are often too general to be applied as
measurable standards. Public Health Units need to establish specific criteria for what
constitutes adequacy or sufficiency under each provision so that dancers and club owners
alike know when they have met the standards for occupational health and safety.” 309
Whether they envision federal or state regulation is unclear, and perhaps irrelevant, as
many of these organizations are international ones. Collectively they call for OSHA-like
regulatory structures that can be attentive to the specificities of sexual work and
empathetic to the concerns of the workers. 310
There are precedents for such targeted agencies. Some workplaces are so challenging
or pose such specific risks that Congress has created a separate agency to address their
workers’ health and safety needs. A classic example is the Mine Safety and Health Act,
which regulates mining, an archetypically risky workplace. As noted in Section II, the
severe hazards and injuries in mining prompted the first two workers’ compensation
laws. 311 The first comprehensive miner safety act was passed in 1969 and amended in
1977, seven years after the passage of OSHA. 312 According to the legislative history,
“the existence of unsafe and unhealthful conditions and practices in the Nation’s coal or
other mines is a serious impediment to the future growth of the coal or other mining
industry and cannot be tolerated.” 313 Protection for miners has certainly waxed and
waned over the years. At the moment, they seem to enjoy a fairly robust set of
protections, although enforcement varies. 314 But are professional sex workers likely to be
treated like miners? Can we imagine an STD Fund akin to the Black Lung Fund? This
raises the next question, of political capital and will.
B. Political Feasibility
308
World Charter 184
309 Exotic Dancing Health and Safety
310
(many of the organizations are international ones, so they would not be contemplating our federal
structure.)
311
[add citation]. Although passed seven years after OSHA, MSHA updated the Coal Mine Safety and
Health Act of 1969.
312
[cite the statute and as amended]
313
[find cite] 799 (footnotes omitted).
314
See infra notes [x] and accompanying text.
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