NY Prostitutes: Time to Ban Condoms as Evidence

New York prostitutes think they—and their clients—will be safer if their state becomes the first to stop using condoms as evidence in prostitution arrests, Bloomberg reports. Since condoms are considered probable cause and can be used against them, many prostitutes simply don't carry protection while working, explains a new report from the Sex Workers Project at New York's Urban Justice Center.

That, of course, increases the risk of contracting and spreading HIV/AIDS—which is why the Sex Workers Project and PROS Network, a sex workers' coalition that co-authored the report, went to Albany yesterday and pushed for lawmakers to ban the practice of using condoms as evidence. But the bill, introduced previously, is too broad, opponents worry, and could make it more difficult to prosecute human trafficking crimes. (More prostitutes stories.)