After prompting a major flare of global controversies, Amnesty International’s draft policy supporting the decriminalization of sex work was voted and approved at organization’s International Council Meeting, in Dublin, in early August. Even so the debate on sex work continued. In fact, in a number of countries, as in the case of Brazil, the topic has gained attention after the internal Amnesty International debate has been resolved.
Anthropologist Laura Agustín insightfully asked on her Facebook mural why this internal policy debate, which will not have any immediate positive impact on sex workers lives, could have sparked so much flare. In order to call attention to these daily life dimensions that will not be so easily transformed, SPW recommends the reading of a 2013 Agustín article on the murder of a sex work in Sweden, the country where negative reactions to the new Amnesty policy were probably the most strident. We have also made a new compilation of articles published after the Dublin voting.
Prostitution Law and the Death of Whores – by Laura Agustín – The Jacobin
Beyond Amnesty: The Battle Over Sex Work Decriminalization – Truthout
Global movement votes to adopt policy to protect human rights of sex workers – Amnesty International