Amnesty International approves decriminalisation of sex trade: overrules objections from women's groups

In a significant step, human rights watchdog Amnesty International has approved a controversial policy for the de-criminalisation of the sex trade, rejecting the pressure from some women's rights groups who had argued that the move would be tantamount to advocating legalisation of pimping and brothel owning.

At its meeting in Dublin, the human rights body approved the resolution to recommend "full de-criminalisation of all aspects of consensual sex work." It defended the decision by saying that it has been convinced that decriminalisation is the best way to defend sex workers' human rights.

Secretary General of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty said, “we recognise that this critical human rights issue is hugely complex and we have addressed this issue from the perspective of international human rights standards. We also consulted with our global movement to take on board different views from around the world.” Amnesty's decision will have impact as it has immense lobbying power with governments in pushing its perspective on them.

Exploitation

However, Amnesty’s new stand has sparked opposition from many women's groups who argued that the human rights organization made a big blunder. The U.S.-based Coalition Against Trafficking in Women argued that while it agreed with Amnesty in principle that those who are prostituted should not face criminal charges, it feared full de-criminalisation would make pimps "businesspeople" and they will sell the vulnerable without any fear of legal action.

Taina Bien-Aime, the executive director of the coalition remarked that “it is a slap in the face to survivors and women's rights groups around the world,” and added that she is highly disappointed and does not find words to adequately describe her feelings.

Jimmy Carter protests

The decision also drew strong protest from former President Jimmy Carter. He sent a personal letter to Amnesty delegates urging them to reject the proposal. Leading feminists including Lena Dunham, Meryl Streep and Gloria Steinem also signed a protest letter.

Ian Kitterman, policy specialist for Demand Abolition, a group aiming abolishment of sex trafficking, flayed Amnesty and said, by calling for decriminalization of all facets of commercial sex, including sex- buying, pimping, and brothel-owning Amnesty has placed the rights of exploiters over the exploited. However, Kitterman fully agreed with the watchdog’s stand that more must be done to protect those sold in the sex trade. He said it is critical to place accountability on sex buyers, pimps, and traffickers for perpetuating this predatory industry.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or let us know what you think below)