TonioTimeDaily

"1 DECRIMINALIZATION RESPECTS HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIGNITY A cornerstone of contemporary human rights is that all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights.5  There are many reasons why adults do sex work, whether it is their main livelihood, a temporary means to survive, or an opportunity to supplement other income.6  Some people find that sex work offers better pay and more flexible working conditions. Whatever the reasons, sex work is work, and sex workers should be treated with dignity. Sex workers in many parts of the world have organized to fight for human rights that cannot be fully realized as long as criminal laws threaten sex workers’ access to justice, health, and social services; undermine their right to labor and workplace protections; and expose them to violence, discrimination, and arbitrary arrest.7 2 DECRIMINALIZATION HELPS GUARD AGAINST VIOLENCE AND ABUSE Sex work is not inherently violent; it is criminalization that places sex workers at greatest risk. The need to avoid arrest— of both sex workers and their clients—means that street-based sex workers must often move to more isolated areas that are less visible to law enforcement, and where violence is more prevalent.8 Fear of arrest and police abuse limits the time and methods that sex workers can use to conduct safety screenings of clients without detection by police.9 For sex workers who are not street-based, authorities have even shut down online sex work forums, like Redbook, which have offered sex workers more detailed client screening possibilities and thus greater security.10 These factors, plus real or perceived impunity for perpetrators of violence against sex workers, place sex workers at heightened risk. For example, after Scotland instituted laws criminalizing solicitation in 2007, groups recorded a doubling in reported rapes and assaults.11 In jurisdictions that have decriminalized sex work such as New Zealand, sex workers have an increased ability to screen clients, work in safe areas with better access to security services, and refer to police in cases of violence."

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