ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Decriminalising sex work in Antigua & Barbuda, according to the PRO of the Caribbean Sex Workers Coalition, can help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
In an interview with OBSERVER Media, Craig Rijkaard said social standards on the island are putting families at risk, as clients of prostitutes return to their wives or significant others.
“If we are not protecting the sex workers then it means that our families are not being protected and then it means that if you’re talking about the spread of HIV and getting to zero … we are sending one message but doing something else and that definitely isn’t getting to zero,” Rijkaard declared.
The PRO said decriminalisation of sex work in the country is a more immediate and effective course of action, as the process of seeking to reverse current legislation can be an intricate and protracted process.
“We are talking about giving adults that consenting right to choose the professions that they want to choose, in an atmosphere that is equal and they are not being stigmatised because they don’t choose the same profession as someone else,” he noted.
Society on a whole would benefit from the decrimalisation of prostitution, Rijkaard said, regardless of their personal views.
“One (of) the big issues is that persons are going to say they are a religious society and sex work is against the laws that we have. But at the end of the day, we have to respect persons’ human rights and secondly, we have to understand that if we are talking about getting to zero it means that we have to consider all persons across the board.
“So which one do we prefer, to put mechanisms in place to lessen the burden on society or turn a blind eye and society has to pay more?” the PRO queried.
The sex workers’ advocate said discrimination against sex workers has precluded many prostitutes from seeking medical attention and from reporting crimes, such as rape, to the authorities out of fear of being maltreated or prosecuted.
“Fear is one of the causes why we have our HIV epidemic still out there and still going, because we stigmatise and discriminate against certain persons in our society.”
The Caribbean Sex Workers Coalition is a group established in 2008 to protect the rights of women and men in the sex trade against human rights abuses. The coalition consists of both sex worker and their allies.
(More in today’s Daily OBSERVER)
This is an extremely touchy topic. The fact is regardless of prostitution being decriminalized or not men will still patronize them. In the same light, we can’t make it legal because we aren’t entirely able to combat the issue. (If thats the case then legalize marijuanna!)The fact is these women are sleeping with multiple men and some have even become pregnant which ofcourse suggests that they are having unprotected sex. They then become a wide open channel for the disease to be become an epidemic in our very small 80,000 population. Apart from this, nothing is preventing these woman from being tested. If they’re are bold enough to take on the title of a prostitute how can the stigma associated impose “fear”????
Protecting these women is not an option. What we need to do is send them back to their respective countries because nowhere in the Free Movement section of the CSME Act states anything about the free movement of prostitutes. If they want to be considered professionals and be decriminalized, take it up with CSME which ofcourse is all for the free movement of qualified professionals. Then I would be able to respect their coalition. Until then…
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And you wonder why the island has such a high HIV/AIDS prevalence? Start making your policies more pragmatic and logical.
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Stupid people, no wander why aids is spreading so fast. so call christian men go to the whore house then go home and infect their wives, who have no clue that he is seeing a prostitute. One of the ways to stop the spread of aids is to legalized prostitution. Statistics show that 90% of prostitute’s clients are married men.
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I think that prostitution is illegal in Antigua and Barbuda. If we are a christian nation I do not think it is something that should be made law as it would be contrary to the beliefs of the land. On the other hand sex workers are already applying their trade in Antigua and there isnt anything that is preventing them as present. Sleeping dogs should really stay still as these persons ….majority of them are from other countries and i do not know how they get legal status to stay in the land in the first place as sex work is illegal so what do they state their main source of income is and where they reside also who are their employers? Its a unique situation! If a person wants a better life and they decide to travel i can understand but dont break the law and if prostitution is one of them (law) then so be the case. Get a job that earns you a fair living. Also I think that prostitution encourages persons to be ….. when they know that thay can go buy sex. It encourages the spreading of disease and other issues. This shoulld be a time for thought and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of such a situation being implemented. **thats my view***
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What makes so good?
One would think that we are without sin in this country.
Please open your eyes and march into the 21st centry.
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We should alway be careful about legislating morality where the views and beliefs of some are imposed on all. This is what the chruch and such organizations are for. The sad part is you generally do not hear as much noice when under aged individuals are forced into sexual situations but we want to legislate what mature, free thinking adults do. I wonder what would be said if a mostly Adventist parliament enacts legislation that bans the consumption of pork and worshipping on a Sunday. Be careful of that slippery slope.
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This fool must be Drunk.
He wants to make it legal for a bunch of low life foreigners to spread their filth opemley?
First is was the Antiman/FAGS, now the Protitutes
who is next?
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Nexst dem go want gay marriage.
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First prostitution, then homosexuality…then what? Sad people, just sad.
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This story defies imagination…my understanding is that this “person” wants to legalize prostitution on the island of Antigua. Most of the prostitutes on Antigua are foreigners, that is they are not Antiguans and you want to legalize them. They are not Antiguan citizens they are not legal in this country and now you want to legalize their trade as “prostitute?”
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