UK government is failing sex workers Editorial: Protection of sex workers

Tyrael · #1 18th-January-2007

Quote:

UK government is failing sex workers
Editorial: Protection of sex workers

Public release date: 11-Jan-2007

The UK government is failing sex workers by continuing to promote discriminatory laws and practices, argue experts in this week's BMJ.

Professor Michael Goodyear and Dr Linda Cusick call on the prime minister to protect women by decriminalising all aspects of sex work now.

Sex workers around the world continue to be murdered, write Professor Goodyear of Dalhousie University, Canada and Dr Cusick of the University of Paisley, Scotland. The five young women killed in Suffolk last month raised questions about our collective duty to protect such women and how best to achieve it.

Governments and health and social services have a duty of care without discrimination, yet they argue that UK government policies discriminate against the most disadvantaged.

Criminalisation of prostitution limits access to health and social care and contravenes United Nations' guidelines on human rights. "Only by moving prostitution out of the criminal justice system and focusing on public health and social care can we provide optimum support and help break the cycle of violence," they say.

The status quo in the UK is unacceptable moral cowardice, they add. The prime minister has opposed reform and stalled demands for the protection of women; he must show leadership and restore human rights by decriminalising all aspects of sex work now.

They believe that the deaths of Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell, and Annette Nicholls were almost inevitable. "They deserved better, but we failed them. We will honour them best by now doing the right thing."

Quote:

Criminalisation of prostitution limits access to health and social care and contravenes United Nations' guidelines on human rights. "Only by moving prostitution out of the criminal justice system and focusing on public health and social care can we provide optimum support and help break the cycle of violence," they say.

Yes prostitution, one of the oldest professions in human history, should be legal.

Janus · #2 19th-January-2007

I'm all for legalizing it, like in Nevada, USA, and the Netherlands. Have brothels, red light district etc. Have the owners get permits from the gov. to run the brothels or own a section the district etc. The girls must be tested for std's once a month, go to councelling and classes on how to prevent std's etc.

I talk about this same basic idea of how it "should be" every time this is brought up. It should be legal, monitored, and safe. Not have the police hunt down these people who are making a simple business transaction because it is "immoral" or some garbage. Doing it that way only promotes disease and health risks as everything must be done quickly and without proper care because they fear getting caught.

**bachelor tom** · #3 19th-January-2007

the tone of the article is a bit preachy but I agree that, since it is unlikely that prostitution will ever disappear, we should be realistic about it and protect all involved as much as possible

similar to Prohibition, eventually everyone had to concede that alcohol is here to stay

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
SC man who killed 3 social workers executed	outdoors	Chit chat (MAIN)	5	11th-June-2008 02:56 PM
Social workers target poor parents	Feminist_Scum	Discrimination	23	5th-February-2008 02:26 AM
More pay for experienced workers	Marx	News Articles	0	5th-October-2006 12:04 PM
3 AOL workers depart over privacy breach - BusinessWeek	RSS	Science	0	22nd-August-2006 01:50 AM
No women aid workers in Pakistan quake area...	Marx	News Articles	0	26th-July-2006 07:21 AM

UK government is failing sex workers Editorial: Protection of sex workers

UK government is failing sex workers Editorial: Protection of sex workers

Similar Threads