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| Actors call on Amnesty to reject plans backing decriminalisation of sex trade | Actors call on Amnesty to reject plans backing decriminalisation of sex trade |
| (17 days later) | |
| A host of Hollywood stars, including Oscar-winning actors Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson, have lent their support to a campaign demanding that Amnesty International reject a proposal to endorse the decriminalisation of the sex trade. | A host of Hollywood stars, including Oscar-winning actors Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson, have lent their support to a campaign demanding that Amnesty International reject a proposal to endorse the decriminalisation of the sex trade. |
| The global human rights group is set to review an internal policy document on sex work at a meeting in Dublin next month, according to the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). | The global human rights group is set to review an internal policy document on sex work at a meeting in Dublin next month, according to the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). |
| Related: Should it be illegal to pay for sex? Panel verdict | Related: Should it be illegal to pay for sex? Panel verdict |
| If the policy is adopted, Amnesty would “in effect advocate the legalisation of pimping, brothel owning and sex buying – the pillars of a $99bn global sex industry“, CATW said. | If the policy is adopted, Amnesty would “in effect advocate the legalisation of pimping, brothel owning and sex buying – the pillars of a $99bn global sex industry“, CATW said. |
| Over 3,000 members of the public have signed the petition since it was posted on change.org last week, and it has been endorsed in a letter by women’s rights campaigners, former workers in the sex trade, and celebrities such as actors Emily Blunt, Lena Dunham and Anne Hathaway. | Over 3,000 members of the public have signed the petition since it was posted on change.org last week, and it has been endorsed in a letter by women’s rights campaigners, former workers in the sex trade, and celebrities such as actors Emily Blunt, Lena Dunham and Anne Hathaway. |
| The letter, addressed to Amnesty’s secretary general, Salil Shetty; executive director Steven Hawkins, and the board of directors, says: “Every day, we combat male access to women’s bodies through power and control, from female genital mutilation to forced marriage; from domestic violence to violation of reproductive rights. The exchange of money for such access does not eliminate the violence women face in the sex trade … | The letter, addressed to Amnesty’s secretary general, Salil Shetty; executive director Steven Hawkins, and the board of directors, says: “Every day, we combat male access to women’s bodies through power and control, from female genital mutilation to forced marriage; from domestic violence to violation of reproductive rights. The exchange of money for such access does not eliminate the violence women face in the sex trade … |
| Related: We stand with Amnesty on sex work | Letters | |
| “Amnesty’s reputation in upholding human rights for every individual would be severely and irreparably tarnished if it adopts a policy that sides with buyers of sex, pimps and other exploiters rather than with the exploited.” | “Amnesty’s reputation in upholding human rights for every individual would be severely and irreparably tarnished if it adopts a policy that sides with buyers of sex, pimps and other exploiters rather than with the exploited.” |
| US-based CATW said it agreed with Amnesty that sex workers should not be criminalised or brutalised by law enforcement agents and governments: “However, full decriminalisation of the sex trade renders pimps ‘businesspeople’ who sell vulnerable individuals, overwhelmingly with histories of poverty, discrimination, homelessness and sexual abuse, to buyers of sex with impunity.” | US-based CATW said it agreed with Amnesty that sex workers should not be criminalised or brutalised by law enforcement agents and governments: “However, full decriminalisation of the sex trade renders pimps ‘businesspeople’ who sell vulnerable individuals, overwhelmingly with histories of poverty, discrimination, homelessness and sexual abuse, to buyers of sex with impunity.” |
| Amnesty International said it was in the final stages of receiving feedback on the draft policy, which it says is based on evidence that the criminalisation of consensual adult sex work can lead to greater abuse against sex workers. | Amnesty International said it was in the final stages of receiving feedback on the draft policy, which it says is based on evidence that the criminalisation of consensual adult sex work can lead to greater abuse against sex workers. |
| “These violations include physical and sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, extortion and harassment, forced HIV testing and medical interventions and exclusions from healthcare, housing and other social and legal benefits,” Amnesty said in a statement. | “These violations include physical and sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, extortion and harassment, forced HIV testing and medical interventions and exclusions from healthcare, housing and other social and legal benefits,” Amnesty said in a statement. |
| Related: Swedish prostitution law is spreading worldwide – here's how to improve it | Michelle Goldberg | Related: Swedish prostitution law is spreading worldwide – here's how to improve it | Michelle Goldberg |
| The rights group stressed that no decision had been made on whether to adopt the draft policy. | The rights group stressed that no decision had been made on whether to adopt the draft policy. |
| “Legalisation keeps pimps, brothel keepers, and sex-slavers in freedom and riches. Criminalisation puts the prostituted in prison,” said veteran women’s rights campaigner Gloria Steinem. “What works is the ‘third way’, the Nordic model, which offers services and alternatives to prostituted people, and fines buyers and educates them to the realities of the global sex trade,” she said in a statement. | “Legalisation keeps pimps, brothel keepers, and sex-slavers in freedom and riches. Criminalisation puts the prostituted in prison,” said veteran women’s rights campaigner Gloria Steinem. “What works is the ‘third way’, the Nordic model, which offers services and alternatives to prostituted people, and fines buyers and educates them to the realities of the global sex trade,” she said in a statement. |
| The so-called Nordic model adopted by Canada, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, and more recently, Northern Ireland, aims to punish clients without criminalising those who have been driven into sex work. | The so-called Nordic model adopted by Canada, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, and more recently, Northern Ireland, aims to punish clients without criminalising those who have been driven into sex work. |
| It contrasts with laws legalising or decriminalising sex work, which have been introduced in the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand. | It contrasts with laws legalising or decriminalising sex work, which have been introduced in the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand. |
| Thomson Reuters Foundation news agency contributed to this report. | Thomson Reuters Foundation news agency contributed to this report. |
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