No Condoms As Evidence in New York

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The Issue

When police stop and frisk people and find that they are carrying condoms, they often confiscate or destroy the condoms. Currently, police and prosecutors in New York State can use the possession of condoms as evidence that people are engaging in the crimes of prostitution (PL 230.00) and loitering for the purposes of engaging in a prostitution offense (PL 240.37). In a state with a major free condom program and in a city with the only municipally-branded condom in the world, it is shameful that the Department of Health gives away condoms only for the New York Police Department to confiscate them from people.

No one should be forced to choose between safer sex and arrest, regardless of whether the person is engaged in sex work or profiled as such. New York State legislators need to pass bill S1379/A2736, which will ban the use of condoms as evidence in prostitution related offenses.

The practice of condoms being used as evidence is a discriminatory one that is used as part of larger stop and frisk profiling practices. The use of condoms as evidence is very much a gendered version of stop and frisk – police typically stop trans and cis women, gender non-conforming people and people (including trans and cis men) who are perceived to be gay, people of color, and people who they perceive as dressing or acting like they are selling sex by wearing outfits the police deem as being sex worky, standing or walking in public places, talking with passers-by. The practice of condoms as evidence negatively impacts indoor sex workers as well, and furthermore has the potential effect of encouraging traffickers to withhold condoms from their victims, further harming the very individuals anti-trafficking laws seek to protect. Banning the use of condoms as evidence is not a matter of condoning the sex trade – it is a common sense measure to ensure that people can protect themselves and each other from STIs, including HIV, as well as unwanted pregnancies.

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How to Take Action

If you live in the state of New York (including if you go to school in New York or live in a shelter), here’s what you can do:

  • Fill out your address here and we will send postcards in your name to your State Senator and Assembly Member, the people who represent you in New York State government. Snail mail is MUCH more effective at getting the attention of elected officials than an internet petition, and the postcards are cool as hell, too – they feature the art from the below slideshow.
  • Find out who your Senator and Assembly Member are, call your representatives, and ask them to support bill S1379/A2736. Phones are scary, its true – need help figuring out what to say or want to know what your reps’ histories with the bill are? Email info@redumbrellaproject.org and we’ll help you out.
  • We are going to Albany on April 23rd to meet with legislators and tell them to pass the bill. The buses are full, but if you want more information about the trip, email info@redumbrellaproject.org
  • Tell your people IRL and on the internet about this campaign. We’re tweeting with the hashtag #nycondom and generally we’re trying to get people not to just say, “whoa that’s messed up” but to speak up about it to their elected representatives.

If you live outside of the state of New York:

  • Tell your people IRL and on the internet about this campaign. We’re tweeting with the hashtag #nycondom and generally we’re trying to get people not to just say, “whoa that’s messed up” but to speak up about it to their elected representatives. So, please share this info with anyone you know who lives in New York State.
  • Please don’t fill out the address form to send a postcard to elected officials in NY. Many laws that impact people in the sex trades or people profiled as being in the sex trades are criminal codes, which are state-level laws. It sounds harsh, but seriously, elected officials in New York don’t care about what people from other states or countries think about laws here, they only care about what their constituents think.
  • The use of condoms as evidence of prostitution and the profiling of people of color, trans women, and gender non-conforming people are widespread issues. Check out the documentation of this issue around the U.S. and around the world. Talk to sex workers, as well as harm reduction and social service providers in your area. If this is an issue locally, think about how you might launch a campaign to change it. Start by familiarizing yourself with the local laws and the people you will need to win over to make change.

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Stories of Condom Confiscation and Police Harassment

 

Fill out your address here and we will send two of the above postcards in your name to your State Senator and Assembly Member, the people who represent you in New York State government. The postcards ask your reps to support bill S1379/A2736, because no one should have to choose between safer sex and arrest. Snail mail is MUCH more effective at getting the attention of elected officials than an internet petition, and we’re pretty sure these postcards will be memorable.

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Advocating in Albany: No Condoms As Evidence

 

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The Evidence

The following reports document the issue of condoms as evidence not just in New York, but in cities around the United States and in other parts of the world.

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Related Legislation

The Community Safety Act, legislation that RedUP endorses, is a landmark police reform legislative package that currently consists of four bills aimed at ending discriminatory policing and bringing real accountability to the NYPD. New Yorkers want to live in a safe city where police officers treat all residents equally and respectfully, and are not above the law. These four bills have been introduced in the City Council, a hearing was held on the full package in October 2012, and are now awaiting a final hearing and vote. Learn more about the Community Safety Act and Communities United for Police Reform organizing.

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