Cambridge City Council Approves New Protections For Sex Workers

CAMBRIDGE, MA — The City Council approved a policy order requesting changes to how consensual adult sex work is handled by law enforcement and additional services for workers during a recent meeting.

The order asks Cambridge police to continue treating arrests related to consensual adult sex work as a low enforcement priority and calls on the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office to stop prosecuting consensual sex work. The measure also requests a dedicated call and referral line through the city’s Community Assistance Response and Engagement Team and additional efforts to prevent trafficking and exploitation.

The decision came during the Council’s Monday, Oct. 5, meeting after the proposal was delayed the previous week. Eight councilors supported the order while Councilor Tim Flaherty voted present. Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler introduced the proposal alongside Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and Councilors Marc McGovern, Patty Nolan and Ayah Al-Zubi, according to the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective.

The proposal was developed with the Collective, a grassroots organization advocating for the full decriminalization of adult sex work in Massachusetts. The organization said the order recognizes a distinction between consensual adult sex work and sex trafficking and seeks to make it easier for workers to report violence without fear of being arrested or prosecuted.

Nolan exercised her charter right during the Council’s Sept. 28 meeting, delaying consideration of the order over concerns about language supporting full decriminalization, including people who purchase sex. Councilors subsequently removed a provision calling for the Legislature to fully decriminalize consensual adult sex work statewide before approving the remaining order Oct. 5.

The amendment did not resolve disagreements over whether the remaining language covers clients. Sobrinho-Wheeler and supporters maintained that the order still includes both workers and clients, while some other councilors interpreted the measure differently, according to the Cambridge | Somerville Independent. The Collective’s announcement described the order as calling for police and prosecutors to refrain from pursuing cases against both groups.

The Council’s action does not change state law, which continues to criminalize both selling and purchasing sexual conduct. Selling, agreeing to sell, or offering sexual conduct for a fee carries a potential sentence of up to one year in a house of correction, a fine of up to $500, or both. Purchasing, agreeing to purchase, or offering to purchase sexual conduct carries up to 2½ years in a house of correction, a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, or both. Separate penalties apply to offenses involving children.

The order also requests that City Manager Yi-An Huang work with relevant departments to implement recommendations following a May 2025 Human Services Committee discussion. Those recommendations include strengthening anti-poverty measures, establishing the CARE Team call and referral line, and prioritizing commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking prevention efforts for LGBTQIA+ youth. Huang is asked to report back to the Council on progress, according to the meeting agenda.

The proposed line would allow sex workers to seek assistance without first contacting police. Cambridge’s CARE Team operates through the Community Safety Department and provides an unarmed alternative response to nonviolent behavioral health crises, including immediate assistance and follow-up support. The Council’s order requests the creation of a dedicated line rather than announcing an already operating service.

Shameka Gregory, who leads the city’s Domestic and Gender Based Violence Prevention Initiative, supported establishing the line during the meeting, citing distrust of law enforcement as a barrier to seeking assistance even when prostitution arrests are uncommon, Cambridge Day reported.

Current and former sex workers, trafficking survivors, researchers and advocates participated in public comment. Supporters argued that criminal penalties make workers less able to report abuse or establish safe working conditions. Opponents of decriminalizing clients raised concerns about exploitation and whether arrangements described as consensual adequately protect vulnerable people. Trafficking survivors expressed differing views on the proposal.

The Collective said dozens of sex workers shared their experiences and asked the city to recognize their needs. Co-Chair Mary Carol described the vote as an important victory for workers, survivors and their supporters.

“I am moved by each person who testified, because it takes tremendous courage to speak in the face of hostile opposition,” Carol said in a statement. “Victories seem rare. This one is special because of how many sex workers, survivors, and allies supported our effort. This win gives me hope.”

The policy follows a Human Services Committee meeting held May 28, 2025, examining sex work, trafficking, support services and proposed state legislation. Nolan said in a council update that she requested that discussion after a brothel operation was discovered in Cambridge and reporting implicated a city councilor. The hearing included advocates with differing perspectives, school representatives and the Commission on the Status of Women.

Cambridge’s decision also follows an earlier action by the Somerville City Council. On Sept. 10, 2020, Somerville approved a broader resolution supporting the People’s Justice Guarantee that included a request for police to decline to arrest or seek prosecution for consensual sex work. The proposal had been introduced in November 2019. Somerville approved another resolution April 25, 2024, supporting state legislation intended to improve sex workers’ safety. That proposal included limited protections for reporting crimes without fear of arrest for certain offenses and a study of decriminalization. Related proposals have also been considered by the Massachusetts Legislature.

The Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective formed in October 2023 from a local support group and includes current and former sex workers, trafficking survivors and allies, according to its website. The organization said the Cambridge order was endorsed by groups including Jane Doe Inc., NOW Massachusetts, Families for Justice as Healing, YW Boston, the UAW, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, and the Harvard Graduate Student Union.

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