Criminal Statutes on Sex Work

• Pages: 103-105

Contenidos

• The Issue.
• Legal and Policy Considerations.
• Practice Examples.
• References.

Page 103

The Issue

Sex work may be nearly universal, but is often illegal and therefore pushed underground. Sex workers are diverse. While most are female, there are male and transgendered sex workers as well, from young to old. Sex workers often have significantly higher rates of HIV infection than the general population, and preventing transmission among those with multiple sex partners is cost effective in stemming the transmission of HIV to the general population. In addition, according to UNAIDS, "sex workers are among the most likely to respond positively to prevention programmes."

While some adult women and men may enter sex work freely as an occupational choice, many are compelled by coercion or economic circumstances. Violence, trafficking, and debt bondage may be used to coerce people into sex work. Many adults entered sex work as children (see Topic 8.3). Dire economic circumstances also force many into sex work, as it may be the only means of subsistence, or the best-paying option. Sex work may be informal or formal. Informal sex work consists of individual prostitution, including streetwalkers and call-girls or boys, who usually find their clients independently. Many of these sex workers may work sporadically when funds are needed, and not consider themselves to be sex workers. Formal, or organized prostitution employs intermediaries (pimps) between the sex worker and client. Formal prostitution is often centered in brothels, night-clubs, and massage parlors.

Sex workers are especially vulnerable to HIV because stigmatization and discrimination may cause them to avoid health care and pursuing legal remedies against violence. There are seldom laws protecting sex workers, and when there are such laws, they often are not enforced. Limited information on health and risk of HIV infection, as well as limited power to negotiate safer sex place sex workers further at risk. If sex workers use intravenous drugs, alcohol, or have other sexually transmitted infections, their risk of HIV infection is increased.

Legal and Policy Considerations

Sex work is typically treated in one of three ways by a government. Direct prohibition of sex work involves laws criminalizing activities related to commercial sex-solicitation, exchange of sex for money, management of sex workers (pimping or brothel-keeping), and procurement. Alternatively, sex work may...