(Mohave Valley Daily News) – A bill introduced in the Nevada Senate on Thursday seeks to ban the nation’s only legal brothels by outlawing prostitution.
Republican state Sen. Joe Hardy said brothels have no place in Nevada and attract women with few economic options who get stuck in an abusive industry. . . . Democratic Sen. Pat Spearman also signed on as a sponsor of the legislation, saying the legal bordellos can disguise sex trafficking. . . .
Alice Little, who works at a brothel in Lyon County, said she appreciates Hardy’s concern, but argued the legislation would only harm sex workers like herself.
“At the end of the day, it’s our jobs, our bodies, our consent that should matter,” she said. “I don’t need somebody who has never even met me to be passing judgment about whether my job should or should not be allowed.”
“It’s either going to happen in the streets and in Vegas and in the hotels, or it’s going to happen in a safe, legal atmosphere where women such as myself can feel safe and protected,” said Christina Parreira, a sex worker who formerly worked in multiple brothels.
Parreira, a doctoral candidate at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who also conducted academic research at the brothels, said legal brothel work empowers women to leave pimps and abusive relationships and support their families.