Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. said prostitution will no longer be prosecuted in Manhattan In the same virtual appearance in Manhattan criminal court, the district attorney dismissed nearly 6,000 prostitution-related cases that date back to 1976 Advocates of decriminalizing sex work say a majority of the prosecuted prostitutes are already victims of human trafficking Many of the prosecuted sex workers are nonwhite, according to a ProPublica analysis. New York State lawmakers are discussing a similar bill at the state level that advocates say needs to get passed