WHAT'S NEXT

Tell Louisiana: Oral Sex Doesn’t Make You a Sex Offender
  1. Signatures
    795 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. The Governor of LA (+ 2 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • The Governor of LA
      • The LA State Senate
      • The LA State House
  2. Created By
    Change.org
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates
How We Won

Jul 01, 2011

Two hundred-odd years ago, Louisiana decided that oral and anal sex were scourges upon society that needed to be criminalized. Puritanism and homophobia at its best! This week, the state of Louisiana decided that maybe it was time for an update to the lawbooks.

Thanks to everybody who signed the petition against charging sex workers with felonies for "crimes against nature" and forcing them to register as sex workers. With Gov. Bobby Jindal's signature this week, your support and the work of Women with a Vision paid off.

In Louisiana, sex workers convicted of performing oral or anal sex are subjected to felony charges, longer jail time, and forced to register as sex offenders after their prison sentence is over.

Louisiana has an outdated “crimes against nature” law still on the books that add these harsher punishments. A first time conviction for prostitution is a misdemeanor, but a “crimes against nature” conviction is a felony, subject to up five years in prison a $2000 fine and sex offender registration.

All of this ends up presenting additional dangers and struggles to an already vulnerable population.

In New Orleans, the city police report that women commit only 4% of sexual assaults, yet they account for about 25% of registered sex offenders because of this law. These women who often turned to sex work to escape poverty are then turned away from many regular social services including safe housing and hurricane storm shelters because of their sex offender status, and end up forced to share shelter spaces with people who have committed sexual assault and rape.

Further, because of the felony status of the charge, these sex workers aren’t able to access many benefits like food stamps that could otherwise help them survive.

Send a letter to the Governor of Louisiana and the state legislature telling them that “crimes against nature” laws are unfair, outdated, and not helping to keep our communities safe.

photo: clagnut

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Sex Workers Shouldn't Have to Register as Sex Offenders

Greetings,

I am writing today because I am shocked and appalled to learn that in Louisiana sex workers convicted of performing oral or anal sex are subjected to felony charges, longer jail time, and forced to register as sex offenders after their prison sentence is over.

The state has an outdated “crimes against nature” law that can turn a misdemeanor first time prostitution charge into a felony depending on the sexual act in question.

The New Orleans Police Department says that 4% of sexual assaults are committed by women, but about 25% of registered sex offenders there are women because of these laws. Many of these women turned to sex work to escape poverty, but the consequences of a felony conviction and sex offender registry include reduced access to social services including housing, food stamps, and access to emergency services like storm shelters.

These old laws aren’t helping to keep anyone safe and need to be overturned immediately.

[Your name]

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