Opinion: It's Time To Decriminalise Sex Work For The Safety Of Sex Workers

Sex work is one of the oldest professions in the world. However, many penal codes around the world criminalise sex work. In Kenya, penal code 153 and 154, cap 63 criminalise it. The codes state that any person who lives on earnings from prostitution, or publicly solicits is guilty of a felony. Hiring a sex worker is also a felony. This creates a problem that makes sex workers vulnerable.

The case for decriminalisation

Commercial consensual sex shouldn’t be criminalised. Sex work is just as valid as any other physical labour that requires the use of the body such as construction. Criminalising it violates the autonomy of adults. A government should not be telling adults when, where or with whom they should be having consensual sex.

Criminalising sex work also exposes workers to abuse and exploitation. The Kenyan penal code is also contradictory because sex work by itself isn’t illegal, but financially benefiting from it is a criminal offence. As a result, sex workers face abuse from law enforcement where they are constantly harassed which can devolve into rape, physical violence and having to pay bribes. In some instances, female sex workers have to pay half their earnings to the police to avoid prosecution.

Sex workers also can’t report crimes such as physical or sexual assault by clients because they could end up arrested or raped themselves. They also face harassment from the public who carry out persecution in the name of morality. Sex workers also face discrimination when seeking healthcare. In November 2015, 300 sex workers in Kisii County were forcibly subjected to HIV tests and those found to be HIV+ were arrested for “spreading HIV”. This perpetuates the stigma of sex work and STIs, which also prevents people who have sought sex work to seek medical treatment. In the US, sex workers and clients have stopped using condoms because law enforcement used them as evidence of criminal sex work.

A study by the Kenya Alliance of Sex Workers found that at least 40 sex workers are killed each month. Sex workers are dehumanised by society and law enforcement which makes them targets. People who are discriminatory or violent clients can kill sex workers and not face any consequences. Decriminalising sex work is the first step in securing the human rights of sex workers.

How does decriminalising sex work help sex workers?

Justice

Decriminalisation safeguards key rights that sex workers need such as protection from discrimination, justice and access to healthcare. Legal recognition of sex workers ensures the dignity and liberty of sex workers and sees sex as the valid labour that it is.

Help victims of human trafficking

There is a misconception that decriminalising sex work would enable further human trafficking. Sex work involves the consensual exchange of sex for money or other incentives. Human trafficking is nonconsensual and violates a person’s autonomy. In addition, the stigma surrounding sex work contributes to the proliferation of human trafficking. Victims of human trafficking are less likely to come forward to law enforcement because of the attitudes towards people involved in the sexual industry. Instead of human trafficking survivors being treated like victims of a heinous crime, they can face criminal charges or the same discrimination that sex workers face. Additionally, if sex work was a legal, registered institution, any establishments that keep operating without oversight would be subject to investigations. Therefore, human trafficking would be easily exposed.

Decriminalising sex work can also ensure laws that distinguish between human trafficking and sex work. But there can’t be any restorative justice for victims of human trafficking if attitudes towards sex and victims of sexual assault don’t stop being dehumanising.

Safety of sex workers

Decriminalising also ensures the safety of sex workers. Clients who refuse to wear protection can face consequences if they try to force sex workers to provide their services without protection. Removing the shame around sex work also encourages clients to get more health screenings to ensure that STIs don’t spread.

What if transactional sex is wrong but not illegal?

In some countries like Sweden, buying sex is a crime but the buyer and seller aren’t prosecuted. In Sweden, sex work is viewed as harmful because no one would want to do sex work unless they don’t have a choice. Countries like these want to discourage sex work. This is also considered a feminist issue because it comes down to an argument of autonomy vs commodifying women.

Decriminalising sex work doesn’t interfere with people’s personal belief systems. It also doesn’t negate the fact that sex workers continue to exist and their rights still need to be safeguarded. If the government believes that economic vulnerability is the only reason that people engage in sex work, they can push for a more equitable society. Starting programs with affordable housing, free healthcare, accessible education, and a universal basic income can be the first steps in ensuring that sex work isn’t driven by desperation.

Sex work isn’t violent if two adults decide to exchange sex for money. However, decriminalising sex work helps workers ensure that they have safe working environments, and aren’t denied healthcare. They can also report any crimes that occur to them. Sex work should also not be conflated with sexual coercion. In work situations where people in authority solicit sex acts for work favours. This isn’t transactional sex, it’s sexual assault because the vulnerable worker didn’t give informed consent. The Human Rights Watch believes that decriminalising is the best way to ensure that sex workers are as protected as other labourers.