Yang Song’s experience, as elaborated in the report, reveals the limitations of any approach that attempts to rescue sex workers by first arresting them. According to the report, Yang Song was nearly finished with a mandate from the Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court—five counseling sessions at Restore NYC to resolve a September 2017 prostitution arrest—when the raid took place. She had one session remaining, scheduled for three days after her death.
“Queens DA Releases Final Report on Massage Worker’s Death, Calling Sex Work ‘Degrading and Humiliating’” by Melissa Gira Grant and Emma Whitford for The Appeal
(photo by Scott Heins)