Amnesty International votes in favor of decriminalising sex trade

[IDemo]

Source: Firstpost

Dublin: Amnesty International on Tuesday voted in favour of adopting a policy supporting the decriminalisation of prostitution in the face of intense criticism over the highly controversial move.

The decision was taken at the human rights group's International Council Meeting (ICM) in Dublin by a majority of the 400 delegates from 70 countries.

But the organisation would not give a breakdown of the votes.

While Amnesty hopes the move will help protect the human rights of sex workers, critics say the organisation, set up in London in 1961, risks losing credibility.

Read more: http://www.firstpost.com/world/amnesty-international-votes-favor-decriminalising-sex-trade-2388780.html

[bluestateguy]

1. The Nevada model works

Legalized, taxed and regulated.

[iandhr]

2. Similar model in Holland and Germany.

There even unionized in Holland

[Spitfire of ATJ]

3. Carlin put it best....

"Selling is legal. Fucking is legal. Why isn't selling fucking legal?"

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

15. Best wordsmith of our time!

[uhnope]

4. PARTY AT THE HUMAN TRAFFICKERS HOUSE! Any photoshoppers out there?

Can someone photoshop this sign to say "Amnesty Int'l Says Selling Woman is a Human Right"?



Please change this to read "Human Traffickers are protected under the law"



"Human Trafficking SPECIAL HALF PRICE PROMOTION Month"



"LEGALIZE IT"


"GO"



Because this is the Internet, on edit i will make clear that the above is intended as dark satirical humor in protest. AI doesn't get my money anymore

[IronLionZion]

6. They should make human trafficking illegal

and while they're at it, it's about time they made drug trafficking illegal too. Because that would stop it for sure and get rid of the dealers in the park near my building.

Some day they should finally make murder illegal.



I would support decriminalizing the prostitutes and keeping the customers/pimps illegal. Sweden has had success reducing human trafficking with that policy because there are no repercussions for the victims who report it. And it reduces demand.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Non-consensual acts are immoral. A fully informed consensual business transaction is moral. nt

[Little Tich]

5. Criminalizing prostitution hasn't helped, but I'm not so sure decriminalizing it will help either.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. The problem is not prostitution, it is pimping, human trafficking and rape.

By allowing women and/or men to work together, indoors, with bouncers and security, is much better than forcing them into the shadows and dark corners and into strangers cars and vans. It encourages sound business practices, medical examinations, good health, and increases safety for everyone.

[bemildred]

7. If you want to protect sex workers, you have to be able to regulate the business.

Which means making it legal to do.

[Hortensis]

8. Way past time. Decriminalizing sex workers: Enormous step toward empowering and devictimizing.

[reorg]

9. Why Amnesty International should back decriminalisation of buying and selling sex

Why Amnesty International should back decriminalisation of buying and selling sex

The major sex worker-led organsiations support decriminalising prostitution - freeing both buyers and sellers from the threat of prosecution. It's time Amnesty followed suit.

... The controversy isn’t a natural one: for people who work in the human rights field, sex worker rights should not be up for debate, says Luca Stevenson, coordinator of the International Committee for the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe. “There’s been a fight for sex worker rights for decades, and it should be a no brainer for people who work in the human rights field, like LGBT rights,” he says. “Criminalisation and stigmatisation create the context for our human rights abuses, and so it’s a part of the work they’re already doing. It’s the most simple thing - criminalisation and stigmatisation put sex workers at risk. They lead to human rights abuse and we need to take a position against it. So organisations like Human Rights Watch, the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women or UNAIDS, all have a position on decriminalisation because it’s common sense.

... The sixteen pages of Amnesty International's draft policy on sex work are not a licence to pimps or traffickers, as scores of celebrities have claimed. The draft soberly presents a clear, evidence-driven call for the full decriminalisation of sex work worldwide, based on ancient principles of human rights: health, safety and security. It says nothing about the morality of sex work, and it includes ample provision for sex workers, states and services to combat coercion and the presence of underage people in sex work.

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/08/why-amnesty-international-should-decriminalise-buying-and-selling-sex

[Taitertots]

10. I've never seen a coherent harm reduction model explaining why prostitution should be illegal

Last edited Wed Aug 12, 2015, 02:20 PM - Edit history (1)

None of the arguments in favor of the prohibition of prostitution are based on reducing the harm to the people involved.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. All of the arguments for legal prostitution are about reducing harm. Where have you been?

1) Stop forcing women and/or men to work alone on the street or in strangers cars and vans, all very dangerous situations.

2) Allow them to work together in places of business that have bouncers and security.

3) Prevents pimps from beating them up. Violence against prostitutes is a bigger problem than a consensual business transaction. When prostitutes can work legally, they can and will choose to work for themselves or in professional cooperatives or properly run businesses. It turns the problem from one of violence into primarily one of business regulation.

4) Allows prostitutes to pay taxes, accumulate social security, have medical benefits through their place of employment or self-employment.

5) Allows crimes normally associated with prostitution (rape, beatings, robberies, coercion, human trafficking) to be investigated and prosecuted without many of the inhibitions that prevent judicial protection currently.

6) Allows women and men to choose prostitution for economic reasons and earn a decent living doing it.

[Taitertots]

14. Damn Iphone autocorrect

I've corrected the original post

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. There is a basic fear that people will go wild if they aren't tightly controlled.....

Usually by people who would go wild if they weren't tightly controlled.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

18. Bingo! Same with gay rights, marijuana, (all drugs actually).

They are deathly afraid of themselves!

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

17. Especially because it doesn't make much difference

Whether legal or not, there will ALWAYS be hookers and johns. It's human nature, believe it or not!