Registration is now open for the training, “Exercising Discretion: Navigating the Possibilities and Impacts of Non-Prosecution Policies in the Context of Sex Work Criminalization”. We will hold two live training sessions in August; the registration links are below. We will also record the training and make it available online.

In winter 2023, Yale’s Global Health Justice Partnership and the Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center published “Exercising Discretion: A Handbook for Advocates and District Attorneys Navigating the Possibilities and Impacts of Non-Prosecution Policies in the Context of Sex Work Criminalization” (referred to as the DA handbook) along with an accompanying Community Guide. The DA Handbook seeks to support sex worker rights advocates, prosecutors, policy makers and other stakeholders in understanding, influencing, tracking, and assessing the operation and impact of non-prosecution policies that include charges related to sex work, as adopted by District Attorneys (DAs) in the United States.

During this 90-minute training, two of the DA Handbook authors, Francesca Maviglia and Mariah Grant, will overview how to use the handbook, provide a primer on prosecutorial discretion, and explain what a model non-prosecution policy looks like. They will then discuss an opportunity for sex workers’ rights advocates to apply to participate in a 3-month long cohort to learn more on successfully implementing the DA Handbook in their local context.