It’s long been our belief that consensual sex between adults, including the right to buy and sell it, should be legal. Now Amnesty International has reached the same conclusion. It turns out there’s pretty compelling evidence that legalizing prostitution is the best way to protect the human rights of sex workers, reduce violence and trafficking and improve public health. After two years of research and debate, the organization voted to support the decriminalization of consensual sex work, including prostitution, payment for services and brothel ownership. Amnesty International now plans to lobby governments to repeal laws that ban the sale and purchase of sex. “We are focused on: how we can keep sex workers safe, how we can empower them to have access to their rights, and how we can make sure they have access to healthcare,” Deputy Europe Director Gauri van Gulik explained.
A few misguided citizens—including Hollywood actress Lena Dunham—felt compelled to register “moral opposition,” which is to say they devoted a few seconds to signing a Change.org petition. “I recognize that I’m not a sex worker or a trafficking survivor,” tweeted Dunham. “But I’m blessed to have a platform that many close to this issue do not.” It can’t be easy to find the time to shed light on these issues when you’re, like, totes busy feigning anal sex on HBO. Thank God for the agents, unions and business managers who protect the rights of workers who simulate sex on camera.
