The New Orleans City Council approved an ordinance on Thursday (May 8) that will protect sex workers from arrest and prosecution for prostitution when they have reported crimes committed against them while working.
All six members present at the council meeting voted in favor of the proposed ordinance. District C Representative Freddie King wasn’t present, but voted to recommend passage during a council committee hearing last week. The ordinance now goes to Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s desk to be signed into law.
The ordinance codifies into city law an existing New Orleans Police Department policy that discourages officers from arresting sex workers for prostitution if they are victims or witnesses to a crime, with the hope that they would then cooperate with investigations without fear arrest. During last week’s meeting, Councilmember Helena Moreno said the ordinance was drafted with the input of the NOPD and the Orleans Parish Defense Attorney’s office.
The Trans Income Project, a community support group for trans people in Louisiana, led the push for the proposed new law. Natalie Rupp, the group’s executive director, said the change would benefit trans people, many of whom report having worked in the sex industry at some point in their lives, according to surveys.
“This bill will provide a great needed legal cover for trans folk and for sex workers particularly when dealing with the carceral system and the criminal justice system,” Rupp said.
Along with protecting sex workers who have reported crimes, a provision in the ordinance will also place restrictions on how police can investigate sex workers, regardless of whether they have identified themselves as a crime victim or witness. Titled the “Right to Safe Sex,” the provision prevents law enforcement from using the possession of condoms as evidence of prostitution. A survey by Human Rights Watch found that half of interviewed sex workers carry fewer condoms on them than they would prefer in fear of negative interactions with the police, causing public health concerns.
As a municipal law, the ordinance will only apply to the New Orleans Police Department, not other agencies operating in the city. That includes Troop NOLA, the contingent of state police sent to the city last year by Gov. Jeff Landry. State Police troopers will still have the ability to arrest sex workers for prostitution under state law, after which they can then be prosecuted by the state Attorney General’s Office, per a 2024 agreement between Orleans Parish District Attorney and state AG Liz Murrill.
It’s not yet clear whether the State Police has thought about instituting a similar policy when interacting with sex workers in New Orleans.
State Police spokesperson Sgt. Kate Stegall did not immediately answer questions about how Troop NOLA will interact with sex workers after the law passed. When asked last week, she said only that State Police are responsible for enforcing state—not municipal—laws.
Councilmembers Helena Moreno and Lesli Harris, who sponsored the proposal, did not immediately respond to questions about how sex workers would be affected by the presence of State Police in the city.
Now that the proposal has made it through the New Orleans City Council, Rupp said that the Trans Income Project plans on pushing other local governments to adopt it.
“This bill is a wonderful step for the city of New Orleans to take, but of course, we are only about to do so much with the pressure of the state,” Rupp said. “It is our hope that we can then take this bill as a piece of model legislation and bring it to other cities in Louisiana and help extend similar levels of protection across the state.”