Policy: FOSTA/SESTA:

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FOSTA/SESTA Brief Policy Description:

The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) are two pieces of legislation in the United States that were enacted in 2018. These laws were designed to address the issue of online sex trafficking by holding websites accountable for content that facilitates such activities. FOSTA/SESTA amended Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which previously provided online platforms with immunity from liability for content posted by third-party users.

The main provisions of FOSTA/SESTA include:

Civil and Criminal Liability: FOSTA/SESTA allows both federal and state authorities to pursue legal action against websites and online platforms that knowingly facilitate or promote sex trafficking. This includes the possibility of both civil and criminal charges.

Removal of Immunity: The legislation removes the legal immunity previously granted to online platforms under Section 230 if they are found to be knowingly assisting, supporting, or facilitating sex trafficking.

Impact on Online Platforms: FOSTA/SESTA has had a significant impact on various online platforms, particularly those used by sex workers to advertise their services and vet clients. Some platforms have shut down or modified their policies to avoid legal risks, affecting the ability of sex workers to operate safely online.

How FOSTA/SESTA Affects All Genders:

Impact on Women:

• Women engaged in sex work may face increased risks and challenges as they lose access to online platforms that provided a degree of safety and control over their work.

Impact on Non-binary and Transgender Individuals:

• Non-binary and transgender individuals involved in sex work may experience heightened vulnerabilities, including discrimination and difficulties in finding safe and supportive online spaces.

Impact on Men:

• Men involved in sex work may also be affected, facing similar challenges in accessing online platforms for advertising and client communication. The legislation can contribute to a more precarious working environment.

Unintended Consequences:

• While FOSTA/SESTA aims to combat sex trafficking, it has been criticized for unintended consequences. Some argue that the legislation pushes sex work further underground, making it more difficult to identify and assist victims of trafficking.

Free Speech Concerns:

• FOSTA/SESTA has raised concerns about freedom of speech, as the legislation may encourage online platforms to over-censor content to avoid legal liability, potentially impacting discussions about sex work and related issues.

In summary, FOSTA/SESTA has complex and varied effects on individuals of all genders engaged in sex work, impacting their ability to operate safely and openly online while aiming to address the serious issue of online sex trafficking. The debate surrounding the legislation involves balancing the need to combat illegal activities with the unintended consequences for consensual sex workers and free speech online.

Compose a modified version of the Capacities and Vulnerabilities Analysis (CVA) matrix and a modified version of the Women's Empowerment matrix. Make sure to adjust the matrices so that they are applicable to FOSTA/SESTA Analyze the gender dimensions of FOSTA/SESTA by filling in information in the matrix.

Capacities & Vulnerabilities Analysis (CVA)

Source: Anderson & Woodrow (1989)

Categories	Vulnerabilities	Capacities
Women	Non-binary & Transgender	Men	Women	Non-binary & Transgender	Men
Physical/Material What resources and skills as well as hazards exist that affect people's productivity?
Social/organizational What are the relationships between people? What are their organizational structures?
Motivational/attitudinal How does the community view its ability to create change?

Categories Physical/Material. These refer to resources needed to earn a livelihood. These may include features of the climate, land, and environment where people live; their health, skills (education), their work (employment), their housing, technologies, water, and food supply; their access to capital and other assets that aid their ability to be productive. Questions to consider: 1) What were/are the ways in which men, women, and non-binary or transgender persons are physically or materially vulnerable?

2) What productive resources, skills, and hazards existed/exists? Who had/have access or control over these resources? Social/organizational. This category refers to the social fabric of a community and includes the formal political structures and the informal systems through which people build relationships, make decisions, establish leadership, or organize various social and economic activities.

Questions to consider: 1) What was the social structure of the community/agency/society? 2) What has been the impact of the policy, program, or intervention on social organization? 3) What is the level and quality of people's participation in these structures? Motivational/attitudinal. These include psychological and cultural factors which may be based on religion or spiritual beliefs, on the community's history of crisis, or on their expectation of relief. Questions to consider: 1) How do men, women, and non-binary/transgender persons view themselves and their ability to deal effectively with their social and political environment? 2) What were people's beliefs and motivations before the program, policy, or intervention and how has this policy, program, or intervention affected them? 3) Do people feel they have the ability to shape their lives? Do men, women, and non-binary/transgender persons feel they have the same ability?

Women's Empowerment Framework

Source: Longwe (1991)

Project/Policy	Level of Equality	Level of Recognition of Women's & Gender Issues
	Welfare	Access	Conscientization	Participation	Control

Levels of Equality: Welfare. The level of material welfare of women and non-binary/transgender persons relative to men. Do women and non- binary/transgender persons have access to resources such as food supply, income, and medical care? Access. Access of women and non-binary/transgender persons to the factors of production on an equal basis with men; equal access to land, labor, credit, training, marketing facilities, and all public services and benefits. Conscientization. A conscious understanding of the difference between sex and gender, and an awareness that gender roles are cultural and can be changed. Participation. Equal participation of women and non-binary/transgender persons in decision-making process, in policy-making, planning, and administration. Control. Control of women and non-binary/transgender persons over the decision-making process through conscientization and mobilization, to achieve equality of control over the factors of production and the distribution of benefits.

The framework asks you to consider three levels of recognition of women and gender issues in the policy of FOSTA/SESTA: Negative level: At this level, the policy or program makes no mention of women or gender issues. Experience has shown that women and gender minorities are likely to be left worse off by the policy or program. Neutral level: This is also known as the conservative level. Policy or program objectives recognize women (or gender) issues, but the concern remains that the intervention does not leave women and gender minorities worse off than before. Positive level: At this level, the policy or program objectives are positively concerned with women and gender issues and with improving the position of women and gender minorities relative to cisgender and heterosexual men.