Group Wants NY To Ban Practice Of Using Condoms As Evidence In Criminal Cases
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Talk about unsafe sex.
Advocates for New York sex workers, The Sex Workers Project, released a report Tuesday and said they want authorities to stop taking condoms as evidence in criminal cases, calling it unhealthy.
Web Extra: Click Here to read the full report (pdf)
The group is lobbying Tuesday for bills to make New York the first state to ban the practice.
Two small surveys show fear of police confiscation and arrest has prompted some workers to carry fewer or no condoms and have sex without them, raising the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, according to the report.
The 2010 and 2011 surveys of sex workers were conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and by the PROS Network, a coalition of workers and advocates.
City health officials said they've given out 192 million condoms since 2007, while the state distributes more than 10 million annually.
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