Rather than targeting the most at-risk populations, ideological provisions in PEPFAR marginalize sex workers and all women. The next administration can take the ideology out.
HIV prevention programs for sex workers are most effective when they develop trust and affirm dignity. The prostitution pledge puts the best programs at risk.
A leading figure in the Christian right anti-trafficking establishment, Linda Smith embodies the tensions between feminists and religious right activists working on this issue.
Add United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the list of people who understand that arresting and punishing sex workers is counter-productive in the battle against HIV/AIDS. And take the government of Cambodia off that list.
Denver’s goal to make August’s Democratic National Convention eco-friendly could overshadow other important issues – such as the spike in prostitutes being imported to town to cater to the city’s 35,000 guests.
Unequivocally, prostitution, in every manifestation, is a human rights violation and violence against women and girls everywhere. And we need to say so.
Until Americans, and our media, stop insisting that our male leaders be a manly and upright family fellow with a docile wife who gazes at him adoringly, we shouldn’t be surprised when that spouse remains devoted in the face of infidelity.
