NEWS

Group pushes 'No amnesty for pimps'

Jona Ison
Reporter

Amnesty International may be getting a lot of mail pushing them to reject a position to decriminalize prostitution worldwide.

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation officially kicked off its “No Amnesty for Pimps” campaign Thursday in Washington, D.C. There will be global rallies on Oct. 23, including at Amnesty offices in Washington, D.C., and New York, said Lisa Thomspon, vice president of outreach and education for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

In August, Amnesty International voted to approve a draft policy supporting legalization, joining other global groups, including the United Nations and the World Health Organization, arguing that legalizing the sex trade is the best way to improve safety. Such a move would normalize prostitution and increase demand, Thompson said.

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“The lid comes off the pot, if you will," she said. "What may be contained by certain policies that would criminalize male sex-buying behavior when it's actually enforced, you can create a deterrent effect, but that deterrent effect is completely removed by the kind of policy that Amnesty is calling for. It's shocking that they would be promoting these policies saying that they're concerned about violence and crimes against people in the sex trade, but yet their policy completely leaves out of the equation the people who are perpetuating ... by far the biggest amount of the exploitation."

Eleanor Gaetan, Coalition Against Trafficking Women's legislative adviser, said countries where sex work has been decriminalized have seen an increase in demand and trafficking. Amsterdam's red-light district — known for its plethora of brothels — has scaled back since seeing an increase in women being trafficked into the country, she said.

Addressing sex trafficking has been a focus in Ohio since the governor created a task force in 2012, and prostitution has come to the forefront in many rural communities over the past few years. Opiate addiction, coupled with online escort advertising, has led to an increase in small Ohio communities.

Gaetan said Amnesty, of which she is a member, has "abandoned its mission." She also called Amnesty's process regarding the policy secretive, saying they haven't shared the study that led to the policy and haven't announced when the board will take its final vote.

Although there are indications the final policy will be passed, Gaetan and Thompson are hopeful that if public outcry against the policy is loud enough, it will make a difference. Aside from the rallies, the National Center on Exploitation has created campaign postcards people can order to send to Amnesty, and it is pushing people to Tweet at Amnesty with #NoAmnestyforPimps.

Also, the Coalition Against Trafficking Women has created a global declaration people can sign on its website.

jison@gannett.com

Twitter: @JonaIson