1. Amnesty International & SWOP-USA Unlocking the Mysteries of Full Decriminalization of Consensual Sex Work We Are Stronger Together

2. “Sex workers are one of the most marginalized groups in the world who in most instances face constant risk of discrimination, violence and abuse. Our global movement paved the way for adopting a policy for the protection of the human rights of sex workers which will help shape Amnesty International’s future work on this important issue.”

3. In August of 2015, Amnesty International voted to recommend full decriminalization for consensual sex work - once again sparking World Wide Controversy about whether or not Sex Workers should be granted Human Rights. The resolution recommends that Amnesty International develop a policy that supports the full decriminalization of all aspects of consensual sex work. The policy will also call on states to ensure that sex workers enjoy full and equal legal protection from exploitation, trafficking and violence. The violations that sex workers can be exposed to include physical and sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, extortion and harassment, human trafficking, forced HIV testing and medical interventions. They can also be excluded from health care and housing services and other social and legal protection.

4. What is the difference between Sex Work and Sex Trafficking? Human trafficking is an egregious human rights violation involving the threat or use of force, abduction, deception, or other forms of coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This may include forced labor, sexual exploitation, slavery, and more. Sex work, on the other hand, is a consensual transaction between adults, where the act of selling or buying sexual services is not a violation of human rights. Sex worker organizations oppose exploitation, and recognizes that sex worker organizations can be well positioned to refer victims of trafficking to appropriate services. Conflating trafficking with sex work can be harmful. Many antitrafficking initiatives regard all sex workers as victims, relocating or detaining them in so-called safe houses against their will. Other efforts, like those that have shuttered brothels, have deprived sex workers of their autonomy, income, and secure working conditions. Such efforts have fostered distrust between authorities and sex workers, pushed sex work underground, and made public health outreach more difficult.

5. Amnesty International considers human trafficking abhorrent in all of its forms, including sexual exploitation, and should be criminalized as a matter of international law. This is explicit in this new policy and all of Amnesty International’s work.

6. Decriminalization Decriminalization means removal of criminal and administrative penalties that apply to sex work, allowing it to be governed by labor law and protections similar to other jobs. It is primarily concerned with regulations that advance the health and safety of workers. In a fully decriminalized environment, a sex worker would be able to more easily access health care, housing, Legalization creates narrow regulatory regimes based on other concerns and objectives, such as the health of clients, taxation, or public morality. Legalization may include regulations that limit sex workers’ rights and protections, such as mandatory HIV testing. These may further stigmatize sex workers. Legalization could also create mechanisms for abuse by authorities. For example, in the Netherlands where sex work is legalized, law enforcement has raided sex workers’ homes without a warrant and conducted mass arrests of sex workers veiled as antitrafficking operations.

7. Full decriminalization of consensual sex work means that buyers and sellers of sexual services cannot be discriminated against for the purposes of arrest, housing, healthcare, transportation and/or public benefits. It also means that if they are the victims of a crime (such as rape, domestic violence and even trafficking) they could report these crimes directly to the police without fear.

8. Problems with Legalization Widely presented as a more tolerant and pragmatic approach, the legalized model still criminalizes those sex workers who cannot or will not fulfill various bureaucratic responsibilities, and therefore retains some of the worst harms of criminalization. It disproportionately excludes sex workers who are already marginalized, like people who use drugs or who are undocumented. This makes their situation more precarious, and so reinforces the power of unscrupulous managers. Nevada has a highly regulated and legalized prostitution system as does Germany. Spain and India have unregulated legal sex work. Australia and New Zealand have decriminalized policies in some places. Sweden and Norway have 2 highly controversial sex work policies in place

9. The Nordic models decriminalizes the selling of sex, but makes it illegal to buy sexual services. PROS The Nordic model shows actual harm-reduction, which cannot be offhandedly discounted. The rate of trafficked workers dramatically declines, because the overall amount of sex trade declines. At the same time, selling of sex is decriminalized, so that laws do not further victimize persons who choose to sell themselves. Without fear they may seek assistance from the police if they feel coerced, or abused in any way. Sellers hold all the rights to determine the conditions upon which they engage in sex trade with their bodies. CONS Sweden's criminal justice system is designed to protect sex workers but it really doesn't. Because clients are still criminalized, it drives sex work more underground Relationships with police and landlords are often divisive and there is still widespread abuse Issues like child custody have become a point of tension. Women are stripped of their agency and their rights to do with their body as they wish to.