Amnesty International Votes to Support Decriminalization of Sex Work, Siding with Sex Workers and Activists Worldwide
"Prostitution is not a human right, but sex workers have human rights."
We’ve talked about the Amnesty International vote on whether or not they will adopt a policy supporting the decriminalization of sex work here at The Mary Sue before. Well, the vote is in, and it’s official: AI has voted in favor of working toward the decriminalization of sex workers, much to the relief of sex workers all over the world. They presented their reasoning in this video above, which they posted earlier today.
One of the biggest takeaways from the video is AI’s Deputy Europe Director Gauri Van Gulik talking about what the new AI policy actually means in terms of human rights work:
Prostitution is not a human right, but sex workers have human rights. They have the right to safety, to healthcare, to be free from trafficking, exploitation, and force. And that’s what we are about. That’s what we’re trying to remedy with this policy.
She also brings up the fact that no, decriminalization won’t stop trafficking – but neither does prostitution being illegal. What decriminalizing sex work does do is allow prostitutes to be able to participate in the legal process without fear for their own safety. It doesn’t only reserve the right to due process for “good women” who don’t go into sex work, but extends that level of respect to all women, regardless of what they do for a living. At least, that’s the goal.
Lots of people who oppose this vote focus on the fact being a john will also be decriminalized, which they fear will allow for abuses. What they don’t seem to be getting is that johns already get off pretty much scott-free even with prostitution being illegal. The whole point of this is that, whether prostitution is decriminalized or not, prostitutes always get the short end of the stick. The difference now is that AI wants to fight to get prostitutes the same legal standing that johns already enjoy by virtue of their gender or class.
Because sexism doesn’t begin and end with prostitution. As Van Gulik discusses in the video, sexism is the thing that limits women’s options in the first place and often leads them to sex work as a viable alternative. She then says, “You cannot punish those who are therefore driven to sex work by criminalizing it and taking away choices.”
Kate D’Adamo, National Policy Advocate at the Sex Workers Project, said in a statement that she was thrilled that AI was listening:
One of the things we saw here that was really new, is the conversation was taking place between Amnesty and the people most affected by the policy. Amnesty showed that they are accountable to the people that they serve.
D’Adamo also mentions the fact that AI, up until now, has played it safe with the human rights abuses they target. After all, no self-respecting liberal has a problem with stopping poverty or preventing torture. But sex work is something that is really divisive – especially among feminists.
However, what AI is doing now is separating the job from the abuses of the job, allowing us to see the nuances a bit more clearly and realize that sex work, like domestic housework or migrant farming, is an industry rife with abuses. And it’s those abuses we should be fighting, not the people performing those services, or sex work itself. We shouldn’t penalize women (or men) who engage in sex work more than other workers just because we deem their job “not respectable” or because most of us don’t benefit from it (the way we do from, say, a house cleaned cheaply, or fruit picked by someone from another country who’s being paid way less than you would accept for the same job). Instead, just as we should be fighting for fairer treatment of workers in other occupations and allow them legal recourse against abuse, we should be fighting for sex workers to have the same.
Congratulations to all the sex workers and activists who made their desires and needs known! I’m glad to see Amnesty International working to ensure that the human rights of all women are protected, not only those women who “have the sense” or the resources to pursue “the right kind of work.”
(via The Daily Dot; Featured Image via Ellya on Flickr)
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