Preventing the Conflation of Sex Work and Trafficking in CA
March 31, 2026
Honorable Jesse Arreguín
Chair Senate Public Safety Committee, State of California
California State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Honorable Kelly Seyarto
Vice-Chair Senate Public Safety Committee, State of California
California State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
CC: The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor, State of California
California State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
March 31, 2026
RE: Woodhull Freedom Foundation Opposes SB1027 “An act to add and repeal Title 6.7 (commencing with Section 13990) of Part 4 of the Penal Code, relating to human trafficking.”
Dear Chair Arreguín, Vice-Chair Seyarto, and Members of the California State Senate Public Safety Committee,
My name is Ricci Levy, and I am the President and CEO of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, a national organization whose mission is to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. Woodhull protects individuals’ rights across the United States to enjoy sexual dignity, privacy, and consensual sexual expression without societal or governmental interference, coercion, or stigmatization. As a representative of Woodhull and in my capacity as an expert on the human right to sexual freedom, I submit this testimony to express our opposition to SB1027.
SB1027 is a misleading and unnecessary bill that will be used to justify punitive legislation that harms sex workers and their clients, as well as survivors of human trafficking.
Our opposition to SB1027 is informed by decades of work defending the human rights of adults to engage in the consensual exchange of sexual services and to improve working conditions in the sex industry. We have also meticulously researched issues related to sex work in our Fact Checked by Woodhull series, including the pervasive myths about sex work, which have justified harmful policies like SB1027.
SB1027’s title claims to be “relating to human trafficking,” but instead of addressing this very real concern, the bill conflates ‘street prostitution’ with ‘human trafficking’. Trafficking and prostitution are not the same and must not be grouped together!
In the case of this bill, inflammatory language aside, the bill text only indicates it is to collect data on ‘street prostitution’ in California. There is no mention of collecting data on human trafficking. Therefore, data collected by the Task Force proposed in SB1027 will be worse than useless; it will actively perpetuate the deeply harmful myth that all prostitution is a form of trafficking. Further, the bill lacks important information, such as how data will be collected and how collectors will be trained.
Sex work, which includes the street prostitution targeted in this bill, and human trafficking are not the same thing. Fact Checked by Woodhull’s, Sex Workers Are Not Victims of Trafficking and Exploitation, details the harms of conflating sex work with human trafficking:
“Many sex workers choose their profession voluntarily and have agency in their work. Conflating sex workers with sex trafficking victims dismisses this agency and, as a result, diminishes consideration of the need for labor rights in sex work. This oversight harms both sex workers and victims of sex trafficking.”
SB1027 describes how the Task Force will “Analyze existing state law for its adequacy in addressing street prostitution, including any role state law plays in human trafficking, and the impacts on communities resulting from street prostitution.” Once more, the bill conflates ‘street prostitution’ and ‘human trafficking’ while assuming, without any basis, that current state law is inadequate, thus manufacturing superfluous legislation that would penalize people engaged in sex work.
According to SB1027, no one involved in the proposed Task Force will have lived experience in the sex trades. Policies that center the most affected people are crucial to preserving human and civil rights. SB 1027 lacks this critical representation and will do more harm than good.
SB1027, if passed, will cause significant harm to those most hurt by punitive approaches to the sex industry, including Black, Brown, and LGBTQIA+ sex workers and criminalized survivors of human trafficking.
We urge you to oppose SB 1027.
Your consideration of these urgent matters is very much appreciated.
Sincerely,