Case Explained: Decriminalizing sex work case goes to Alaska Superior Court – Legal Perspective

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A lawsuit filed in December is challenging the state’s prostitution statute.

The nonprofit Community United for Safety and Protection, or CUSP, filed a formal complaint in the Superior Court for the state of Alaska.

The goal is to stop criminalizing consensual adult sex conduct for a fee.

CUSP advocates for the rights and safety of sex workers and sex trafficking survivors.

“It would take the criminalization out,” Amber Batts, a writer and member of CUSP with firsthand knowledge about how sex workers are treated, said.

The filing asserts it violates the Alaska constitution’s guarantee of the right to privacy by “intruding upon private decisions regarding bodily autonomy and consensual sexual relationships without a compelling government interest. CUSP alleges the law violates equal protection principles because it disproportionately targets workers while failing to criminalize accepting sexual services for a fee in the same manner.”

The suit also says there is an increased risk for people who face some of the highest rates of gender-based sexual violence in the country.

A spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Law says the state hasn’t been served yet and can’t comment.

“As a general matter the Department of Law’s role is to uphold and defend the state laws, which we will do in this case as well,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

An email seeking comment to the Anchorage Police Department hasn’t been returned as of Friday afternoon.

The sex business can be hugely lucrative and has a long history in Alaska. According to historian David Reamer, within Alaskan attitudes toward sex worker and red light districts there was “significant social acceptance.”

Nationwide, prostitution is legal in some parts of Nevada and partially decriminalized in Maine.

Colorado could become the first state to fully remove criminal penalties for prostitution among consenting adults if the legislature passes a bill this year. Some in law enforcement have spoken out against the bills.

“Although the bill applies only to “consenting adults,” history shows coercion, fraud, addiction, and economic pressure are often present, making true consent difficult to determine,” Sheriff Joseph Roybal, who began his law enforcement career in 1995, wrote in the Denver Gazette.

Decriminalization is different than legalization. Decriminalization reduces punishment and means consensual adult sex work is not a crime, while legalization creates a legal lane for sex work, which means regulations and possible licenses would most likely be needed under certain circumstances.

Batts, who is a sex worker advocate and part of CUSP, legalization is not the goal.

“Legalization creates all of these different things that people have to kind of sign up for,” she explained. “You have to work for someone, you have to be licensed, you know there’s different aspects to legalization, where as decriminalization would just takes the whole aspect of the prostitution code out.”

CUSP has a history of advocating for change for sex workers, which includes getting the public, and lawmakers, from linking sex work to forced labor.

“By listening to the perspectives of actual sex workers and trafficking survivors, those who say they care about sex trafficking can create effective strategies to prevent trafficking and support survivors without stripping sex workers or trafficking survivors of their rights,” reads the groups website.

Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.