PAHRUMP, Nev.—A licensed sex worker and activist wants to help persuade California legislators to draft a bill aiming to decriminalize sex work and legalize prostitution across the state. Alice Little, a high-profile sex worker operating out of the Chicken Ranch legal brothel near Las Vegas, is scheduled to meet with San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen next week in order to provide a first-hand perspective on sex work from a woman that has been safely and successfully operating as a legal prostitute in a non-criminalized environment.
San Francisco ABC News interviewed Little regarding the merits of Nevada’s legal brothel industry and how a similar model may benefit California. Watch it here.
Supervisor Ronen’s desire to meet with Little and other sex workers follows Ronen’s recent resolution pushing to legalize sex work in California. Ronen’s controversial proposal is in response to an ongoing sex trafficking problem in San Francisco’s Mission District near 21st and Capp streets.
Said Little, "As someone working in Nevada’s legal brothel industry for the past six years, I want to help shape the future of sex work in America and ensure that every state in the union has a system that values everyone involved."
In the early 1970s, Nevada legalized prostitution in the form of regulated brothels located in several rural counties throughout the state. Sex workers operating as independent contractors in Nevada’s legal brothels must undergo an FBI background check to obtain their license and must test weekly for sexually transmitted diseases in order to be cleared to provide sexual services. All brothel owners also undergo a highly extensive personal and financial review before being granted a license, ensuring that these business owners are above board and are not connected to criminal activities, including sex trafficking.
Little strongly believes in the merits of no longer criminalizing prostitution between consenting adults, and she has successfully fought against a movement to outlaw legal brothels in Nevada. In 2018, an anti-prostitution group managed to get an advisory question on the ballot in Lyon County, Nevada in order to persuade commissioners to rescind the county’s brothel ordinance. Little and other Nevada sex workers organized a series of town hall meetings to educate the county’s voters about sex work, specifically focusing on how stigma surrounding the profession fuels misinformation and harms sex workers. Little’s campaign was tremendously successful, resulting in 80 percent of residents voting in favor of keeping prostitution legal in Lyon County.
Little went on to co-found the Nevada Brothel Association, a political lobbying group that provides a voice for brothel owners and sex workers in the Silver State.
Little now wants to leverage her experience for the betterment of California sex workers, and assist Supervisor Ronen in combatting sex work stigma.
Added Little, "Supervisor Ronen’s resolution will hopefully be the first step forward in making California a safer and more prosperous place for sex workers to operate. I want to do everything in my power to enable her success."
Photos of Little are accessible here for publication.
Learn more about Little at her official site thealicelittle.com. Find and follow her on Instagram, OnlyFans, and YouTube.
