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Friday, June 03, 2016

Here's the case for decriminalizing prostitution

It seems that almost everyone has an opinion about prostitution and sex work.

But with Amnesty International’s recent unflinching policy recommendation to decriminalize all adult consensual sex work – including their take-down of the Nordic model which claims to punish only clients – it is becoming increasingly difficult for naysayers to ignore the well-documented ways that sex workers are harmed by criminalization.

Amnesty’s position is based on many years of empirical research by leading health and human rights researchers, as well as calls by sex workers and advocates.

While much of the debate on sex work focuses on what is best for “women,” an enormous diversity of individuals trade sex at some point in their lives.

This includes not just cisgender women from a range of age, racial, religious, dis/ability and sexual identities, but also transgender women, cisgender men and GLBTQ youth.

Yet even when taking into account the diversity of individuals involved and the many settings in which sex is traded and policed, Amnesty studied the accumulating body of evidence and concluded: to protect the rights of sex workers, it is necessary not only to repeal laws which criminalize the sale of sex, but also to repeal those which make the buying of sex from consenting adults or the organization of sex work (such as prohibitions on renting premises for sex work) a criminal offense.

As Amnesty explains:

Such laws force sex workers to operate covertly in ways that compromise their safety, prohibit actions that sex workers take to maximize their safety, and serve to deny sex workers support or protection from government officials. They therefore undermine a range of sex workers’ human rights, including their rights to security of person, housing and health.

Will Amnesty’s recommendation lead to a change in U.S. policies?

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Humanity is heading in the wrong direction.

Anonymous said...

@10:08 - Prostitution is the worlds oldest profession... The same can be said for decriminalization of Drugs: criminalization hurts average people more than it helps.

It's going to happen, and the war on ___ (Drugs, Sex, Alcohol, etc) have all been failures. Everything still happens and is just as available today as 5/10/25/2000 years ago.

People should be able to do what they are going to do in safe places: safe drugs, healthy women, quality alcohol, etc... forcing these things into the dark only benefits criminals and removes safeguards for everyone else.

Anonymous said...

How well is it working in Nevada, where it's been legal for decades?

Anonymous said...

I visit Nevada every year and enjoy the company of a few of the working girls. All are certified clean with health cards, and all work because they want to.

Anonymous said...

Best dates I ever have are from "Escorts", we both know how the evening is going to end and so cuts down on all the extra money wasted to get her drunk.

Anonymous said...

If you want good service and a good product, hire a professional. And when you buy, look for the union label.

Anonymous said...

I doesn't get any more desperate than buying a persons body to use for sex. The woman that you are using hates every second of it.

Anonymous said...

You can never legislate morality no matter how many laws you pass. It just isn't possible.