The journey toward achieving sex worker rights has been marked by perseverance, with a rising chorus of voices advocating an end to stigma, abuse, and the criminalization of sex work. In a momentous move, the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girls released a groundbreaking report in October, urging the global decriminalization of voluntary adult sex work.
This report meticulously scrutinizes the divisive debates surrounding sex work, which often overshadow the urgent need for evidence-based policies safeguarding the rights of affected women and girls. Extensive research conducted by Human Rights Watch, reputable academic studies, health journals, anti-trafficking organizations, and insights shared by sex workers themselves consistently highlight that criminalization exacerbates the vulnerability of sex workers to violence, including rape, assault, and even murder.
Recent investigations in 2021 underscored that criminalization not only jeopardizes the safety of sex workers but also undermines the efforts of advocates fighting for sex worker rights. These dedicated defenders often play a crucial role in life-saving anti-trafficking work by negotiating access to brothels, identifying sexually exploited children, empowering survivors with access to justice, offering harm reduction strategies, and enhancing healthcare pathways for individuals deprived of their freedom of movement.
This report marks the seventh occasion where the Working Group has addressed sex work. It has persistently championed the decriminalization of adult sex work in various reports focusing on gender discrimination in health, women deprived of liberty, women's rights in the world of work, poverty, as well as in interventions specifically advocating for criminalized sex workers in Nigeria and South Africa.
Multiple UN agencies, such as the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, the World Health Organization, the UN Population Fund, and the UN Development Program, stand in opposition to criminalization. Additionally, prominent civil society organizations like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation have presented evidence-based policies in support of decriminalizing adult sex work.
Local advocates for sex worker rights navigate a challenging and often hostile environment marked by defamation, smear campaigns, legal hurdles, and, at times, physical violence and retribution for their activism within their communities. The unequivocal support from one of the leading women's rights bodies within the UN is profoundly significant, signifying a genuine acknowledgment of the voices and experiences of sex workers.
The mounting evidence and the increasing network of institutions embracing a rights-based approach signify a clear path forward. Decriminalization emerges as the crucial step for those committed to upholding the rights and justice for all women, fostering an environment that champions dignity, safety, and empowerment.