I de fleste asiatiske lande er sexarbejde forbudt og betragtes som kriminelt. Men en ny rapport fra FN angiver, at den hårde linje øger udstødelse fra samfundet og ikke vil hjælpe i kampen mod den frygtede hiv-smitte.
BANGKOK, 18 October 2012: Nearly all countries of Asia and the Pacific criminalize some aspects of sex work. Criminalization increases vulnerability to HIV by fuelling stigma and discrimination, limits access to sexual health services and condoms.
The report clearly distinguishes between adult consensual sex work and human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Removing legal penalties for sex work allows HIV prevention and treatment programmes to reach sex workers and their clients more effectively. These are some of the findings in an unprecedented study issued Thursday by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
48 lande undersøgt
Sex Work and the Law examines 48 countries in Asia and the Pacific to assess laws, legal policies and law enforcement practices that affect the human rights of sex workers and impact on the effectiveness of HIV responses.
Where sex work has been decriminalized, there is a greater chance for safer sex practices through occupational health and safety standards across the industry. Furthermore, there is no evidence that decriminalization has increased sex work.
The report describes countries that use punitive law enforcement practices, confiscate condoms as evidence of illegal conduct, require compulsory or coerced HIV testing, deny government services and certain rights to sex workers, and have compulsory detention centres.
Mange bruger kondomer
“There is no evidence from countries of Asia and the Pacific that criminalization of sex work has prevented HIV epidemics among sex workers and their clients,”
In fact, the report states that “evidence from the jurisdictions in the region that have decriminalized sex work – New Zealand and New South Wales (Australia) – indicates that the approach of defining sex work as legitimate labour empowers sex workers, increases their access to HIV and sexual health services and is associated with very high condom use rates.”
“Following on the report on the Global Commission on HIV & the Law, this report illustrates the importance of having the right policies and laws in place so that sex workers’ rights are protected, and they are not discriminated against in HIV and health services,” says Rathin Roy, UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre
Lovene bør støtte de udsatte
“While much more needs to be done, there are examples of supportive laws and policies that protect the rights of those most vulnerable to HIV and maximize their access to HIV and sexual and reproductive services. These are vital lessons that need to be applied more widely,” said Nobuko Horibe, Regional Director UNFPA.
Ms. Chantawipa Apisuk, the Director of Empower, a Thai Foundation led by sex workers, said: “When Sex Work is recognized as legitimate work rather than criminalized, then sex workers will be protected under labor law”.
Uddannelse af sexarbejdere
The report also highlights how significant advances in recognition of the rights of sex workers can occur even in contexts where the sex industry is illegal.
For example, education of police and empowerment of sex workers has helped to reduce human rights violations in India and Thailand, and health authorities in many countries now actively support sex worker organizations to deliver HIV prevention programmes to their peers.
“At regional and global levels, countries have pledged to revise and remove laws, policies and practices that block the HIV response. This report will be a vital resource to inform national reviews on such laws and practices to be carried out the next two years towards the ultimate vision of ending AIDS,” said Steven J. Kraus, Director, UNAIDS Asia and the Pacific.
Kilde: www.undp.org
