http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/wo...tion.html?_r=0
But the effort to crack down on a largely male clientele while sheltering a mostly female work force is taking place just as the human rights group Amnesty International is advocating a new course: decriminalizing all prostitution, both for buyers and sellers.
At an international conference next week in Dublin, about 500 Amnesty delegates from more than 80 countries will vote on whether to advocate the elimination of all penalties for prostitution, based on “evidence that the criminalization of adult sex work can lead to increased human rights violations against sex workers.”...
“Prostitution has always been considered a domestic matter, and now Amnesty could elevate it to a point of international human rights law,” said Francis A. Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois....
But Amnesty International, formed in 1961 to bring attention to political prisoners, argues for a different approach in a leaked proposal that has circulated widely. That document contends that sexual desire is a fundamental need and that punishing buyers “may amount to a violation of the right to privacy and undermine the rights to free expression and health.” The group also cites the benefits for buyers with physical and psychological disabilities who “feel safe to express their sexuality” and “develop a stronger sense of self with their relationships with sex workers.”....
“We are looking at decriminalization of sex work in a very comprehensive way that goes beyond the Nordic model,” he said. “We have looked at the pros and cons of various models.” If a majority approve the decriminalization proposal at next week’s conference, it will be shaped into a final form by Amnesty’s board. The stance will not have any immediate impact, except it will be the organization’s official position as it lobbies on issues in various countries.....
He added that targeting buyers amounted to “manufactured moral panic.” He said: “They think that if you are a foreign sex worker that you are trafficked. We feel they are actually economic migrants.”...
“The really crucial element,” she said, “is that it defines sex workers as exchanging sex for money as opposed to characterizing them as victims of violence.”...
