Councilman John J. Lombardi (Ward 13) thanked Mayor Cicilline today for his recent decision to support legislation that would ban all forms of prostitution in Rhode Island. “This issue is of great importance so it was encouraging to see the Mayor add his voice to the chorus that has been arguing for this legislation,” said the councilman.
At the May 7th meeting of the City Council, Lombardi introduced resolutions supporting the various bills before the General Assembly banning prostitution and spoke about the many dangers that the women who take part in the sex trade are subjected to.
“The women and children involved in this practice are victims, plain and simple,” said Lombardi, pointing to various statistics showing the plight of sex workers. “The average age that someone first begins working as a prostitute is 13. Two thirds of all prostitutes have been raped and three quarters have been physically assaulted. 75% attempt suicide and fully 15% of all completed suicides in this country are prostituted women.”
Councilman Lombardi has worked closely on this issue with Representative Joanne Giannini, who sponsored the House bill that passed last week by a margin of 64 to 9, and has contacted Councilman Seth Yurdin, Chair of the Committee on State Legislation, to request an expeditious hearing on the resolution.
The councilman added that an overwhelming majority of these so-called “spas” are located in Providence, making it especially important that the City’s elected officials take a strong stand on this issue.
