Louisiana’s era of forcing certain convicted sex workers to register as sex offenders appears to be over. Governor Jindall’s office announced today that he had signed into law a bill, sponsored by Louisiana State Representative Charmaine Marchand Stiaes, that effectively moves prostitution convictions back to the level of misdemeanor.
Washington, DC has created a spectrum of punitive laws that lead to and exacerbate unsafe work environments for sex workers and contribute to the skyrocketing rates of HIV infection among vulnerable populations in the District.
The Justice Department has dropped its appeal of an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the controversial "prostitution pledge" in US Global AIDS Policy. Advocates hope this signals an intention to fundamentally change the restriction.
The State Department’s new Trafficking in Persons report suggests that the Obama administration will opt for evidence-based responses to trafficking over putting restrictions on women "for their own good."
Forbes India today evaluates Avahan, the $258 million Gates Foundation HIV prevention initiative on the ground in India. And the program doesn’t fare well.
The White House’s appointment of Luis de Baca to be the head of the Trafficking In Persons office suggests that it appreciates the importance of a harm reduction approach to the problem of trafficking.
Harm reduction is a public health philosophy that emphasizes individual safety, regardless of lifestyle choices, over prohibition. How can this approach make sex work safer?
Sex workers rights advocates have reason to celebrate this International Sex Workers Rights Day. Last week, an amendment that would have further stigmatized sex workers failed in the Indian Cabinet.
Last month at a New Delhi youth festival aimed at raising awareness for sexual health (dubbed Project 19), volunteers led onlookers in a game of female-condom-first-impressions. Combating the idea that safe sex can be unsexy, especially in the case of the female condom, they instead promote it as fun and pleasurable, and in some cases, as an “erotic accessory.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and her team are important players in setting a new agenda for fighting human trafficking. But we have reason to be concerned about how they’ll do it.
