12 March 2008
Foes of Sex Trade Are Stung By the Fall of an Ally
I have refrained from commenting on Governor Spitzer, but this piece discusses some of the contradictions at the heart of the sex trade and the problems for NGOs in fighting it. Cui bono? Especially from tougher laws? The research suggests that new laws against drugs simply push up the price. Is there any research on the role of laws in the sex trade?
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2 comments:
http://www.gregpalast.com/elliot-spitzer-gets-nailed/
suggests another angle worthwhile considering.
Also, only some NGOs conflate/confuse trafficking and prostitution. Most, at least in Europe (and the EU itself), consider these as two very distinct policy issues; prostitution is only one sector of exploitation of victims of trafficking. Criminalization or legalization of informal sectors may well result in pushing abuse further underground; whatever one does, the focus should be on transparency of the informal sectors if only to be able to identify and recover victims. It's therefore always worthwhile to see how many, if any, dedicated shelters for victims of trafficking any country has. U.S.?
Reducing the issue of trafficking to the quite different issue of prostitution suggests another, not necessarily legitimate agenda on the part of some advocates/NGOs.
The Economist has some pretty powerful things to say in this article: http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10852872
After attacking Spizer as a hypocrite, it denounces the who;e US legal system.
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