Seattle boosts funding to tackle Aurora Avenue’s persistent sex trafficking issue
by Joel Moreno, KOMO News Reporter
Wed, January 8th 2025 at 4:14 PM
SEATTLE — Efforts to confront prostitution along Seattle’s Aurora Avenue will be getting a new infusion of resources this year, and many neighbors in the area said sex trafficking seems less pronounced but remains a problem.
On Wednesday, the Seattle City Council’s Housing and Human Services Committee got an update on how the Human Services Department is working with survivors of commercial sexual exploitation to try and end the cycle of abuse and violence. Seattle spent $3.3 million to expand diversion and other services for sex workers in 2024 and will be adding another $2 million this year.
“I think it’s toned down just a little bit,” said Paddy Walls, who lives near Aurora Ave N. “I used to see women walking up and down the street with virtually nothing on, and the school is right there, which makes it just disgusting, but it seems like it’s cleaned up a little.”
Darian Laughlin is a tow truck driver who spends most of his shift around the Aurora corridor.
“Aurora is not what it used to be, that’s for sure. As a kid, I never saw what you see now,” Laughlin said. “It sucks. I’ve got four kids, three of which are girls, and I don’t want them seeing that on the roads.”
The presentation to the Housing and Human Services Committee was led by Tanya Kim, the director of the Human Services Department, and Alison Forsyth, a senior planner with the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) services are survivor-centered, Kim and Forsyth explained, so survivors lead their journey and make decisions voluntarily. Efforts are made to make sure the services do not retraumatize survivors.
“We have children that are being trafficked and sexually exploited. We have fully autonomous sex workers. We have the whole spectrum of commercial sexual exploitation, and all of that requires a nuanced response,” Forsyth said. “You’re going to have folks at all stages of change and willingness to engage in services, and oftentimes those that we see that are the most visible are the ones that might not be anywhere close to wanting to engage in services.”
This past year, the $3.3 million was invested in a mobile, flexible advocacy program, where people meet survivors where they are and work to establish trust and build on that relationship. Money is also being spent on shelter and housing, outreach and education, a 24-hour hotline, and therapeutic and medical advocacy.
The work goes beyond the highly visible street walkers on Aurora Avenue and includes people who are being trafficked in massage parlors or through online ads.
The city collaborates with various community groups to provide this assistance, including Real Escape from the Sex Trade, Organization for Prostitution Survivors, Aurora Commons, the S.H.E Clinic, YouthCare, Sex Workers Outreach Project, and the YWCA. The city also offers a sex buyer’s diversion program.
“We have a lot of providers telling us that their advocates have full caseloads. A lot of the advocates and their programs have wait lists for services,” Forsyth said.
Council members asked about how they are measuring progress, but the presenters said that this was intended to be a high-level overview and that success rates would be provided in follow-up meetings. Still, the Human Services director acknowledged that the work is slow.
“We are working with people long term. Maybe there are instances where there is a quick transition, but I have looked at some of the data, and it’s a long-term effort,” Kim said.
There is money budgeted this year to open some kind of emergency housing facility for sex workers who need help at that moment to escape the person who is exploiting them. The plan is to set up what is being called an emergency receiving center, where a person can work to transition into more supportive housing and receive job training.
Jared Simiskey, who was shopping for home goods at a store in Aurora, said it’s worth the effort.
“I don’t think you can go wrong in trying anything you can try to get them to break the cycle,” Simiskey said.