The New York City sex industry isn't glamorous. It's dark, seedy, lurid, and the sex work that the women and, to a lesser degree, men engage in carries the risk of danger, disease, sexual violence, and abduction. There aren't many tools that the sexually exploited demographic can use, but one tool that is at their disposal is condoms. With 50 percent of streetwalkers being African American and 25 percent being Latino, and the average age of prostitute in the United States being between the ages of 12-14 years old; it's ethic teenagers who continue to suffer HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases at a high rate -particularly when police confiscate their condoms, a form harassment that's orchestrated in order to prevent sex workers from turning tricks.
New York City Democratic Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio recently appointed stop-and-frisk innovator William Bratton to the position of police commissioner, which according to The National Latino Officers Association and a number of other groups, was yet another missed opportunity to advocate for a qualified Latino, such as First Deputy Commissioner Rafeal Pineiro, to take on the esteemed role.
