The letter was also signed by over individuals. We are aware that Amnesty International is being pressured to back down from this position, but urge you to show courage and tenacity and to adopt this policy. Sex workers worldwide are organising and advocating, often in very precarious and dangerous contexts, for the decriminalisation of sex work. A non-position by Amnesty International would be seen as an approval of the status quo and — in some national contexts — an implicit support for the criminalisation of paid consensual sex namely through the criminalisation of clients , causing very grave consequences for the human rights of sex workers.
We, sex workers and those who support our struggle for human rights, know that any form of criminalisation including criminalisation of clients directly affects our livelihoods and working conditions and urge Amnesty International to listen to sex workers and support decriminalisation of consensual adult sex work.
In the briefing note we include in this document, we would like to respond to some of their key arguments and highlight some of the gaps in the information that they provided. We are urging Amnesty International to take into consideration the below arguments and evidence, stay true to its values and vote in favour of decriminalisation of sex work.
As long as sex work is criminalised — directly or indirectly through laws and practices targeting sex workers, clients, or third parties — sex workers will be at risk of police violence, arrests, rape, blackmail and deportations, and will be unable to report abuse committed by clients, third parties and members of the public.
By voting for this policy, Amnesty International will not side with exploiters and clients. On the contrary, Amnesty International will side with the universality of human rights and with sex workers, supporting us in our struggle to access justice and hold accountable those who abuse and attack us. We hope that Amnesty International will listen to its own research, conducted over two years, to the growing evidence for decriminalisation and to the voices of sex workers who are the most affected by laws criminalizing sex work.
