Human rights violations against sex workers: burden and effect on HIV

Abstract

We reviewed evidence from over 800 studies and reports on the burden and HIV impact of human rights abuses against sex workers across policy climates. Published research documents widespread abuses of human rights perpetrated by both state and non-state actors. Such violations facilitate HIV vulnerability, both directly and indirectly, and undermine effective HIV prevention and intervention efforts. Violations include homicide, physical and sexual violence from law enforcement, clients and intimate partners, unlawful arrest and detention, discrimination in accessing health services, and forced HIV testing. Abuses occur across all policy regimes, though most profoundly so where sex work is criminalized through punitive law. Protection of sex workers’ human rights is critical to respect, protect and fulfill human rights, and to improve their health and wellbeing. Findings affirm the value of rights-based HIV responses for sex workers, and underscore the obligation of states to uphold the rights of this marginalized population.

Decreasing Human Trafficking through Sex Work Decriminalization

“…First, criminalization increases opportunities for violence that's de facto unreportable [7]; that is, because the work they do is regarded as criminal activity, sex workers are easy targets for abuse and exploitation, including trafficking. Fear of arrest and other consequences means that those engaged in sex work are less likely to report instances of violence or exploitation, resulting in a "climate of impunity [that] emboldens police, health sector, and non-state groups to abuse sex workers' rights" [8]. This is true even for so-called "partial criminalization" frameworks, such as those that penalize only the buyers of sex.…”

“…It disrupts critical safety strategies and negotiations including harm-reduction techniques-such as the use of condoms-and peer networks [7]. According to a study published in the Lancet, partial criminalization "creates harms similar to those of full criminalisation by impeding sex workers' ability to protect their health and safety, and creating an antagonistic relationship with law enforcement resulting in a climate of impunity" [8].…”

On Tensions and Opportunities: Building Partnerships Between Government and Sex Worker-Led Organizations in Kenya in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

“…This approach is the most relevant to this discussion. Most sex workers-led organizations base their activities, to a greater degree, on the idea that sex workers have human rights and thus need to be involved in ensuring that their rights are protected and upheld by the duty bearers of society (Decker et al, 2015). Yet tensions also exist within the human rights framework itself.…”

Should US Physicians Support the Decriminalization of Commercial Sex?

“…Despite global controversy about the regulation of commercial sex, there is widespread agreement that whether trafficked or not, sellers are at risk for a range of negative health and social consequences including homicide [8], physical assault [9], sexual assault [10], sexually transmitted infections (STIs) [11], and stigma [12,13]. Trafficked and nontrafficked sellers are also at increased risk for substance misuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicide [11,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20], and recent research has begun to explore the health consequences for children born to either consenting or trafficked sellers [21].…”