GENEVA - An independent expert today expressed concern about a determination by the European Court of Human Rights that a French anti-prostitution law does not violate the right to privacy.
"Sex work is real work," said Tlaleng Mofokeng, the Special Rapporteur on the right to health, who submitted an amicus curiae brief in the case brought to the Court by French and foreign sex workers.
In her amicus brief, Mofokeng pointed out that the criminalisation of sex work presents obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to health, in particular for sex workers. In their case before the European Court, French sex workers and advocacy groups claimed the law would have a devastating impact on their livelihood and drive their work underground.
Mofokeng reaffirmed that "States have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of sex workers", adding that "although human rights are 'indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated' and should be guaranteed as such, certain rights, including the rights to privacy, bodily integrity, liberty and security of the person, the right to be free from torture, cruel and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to autonomy and freedom from unlawful interference are of particular relevance to the well-being of sex workers". She stressed that "equally important to the welfare of sex workers are the rights to the enjoyment, without discrimination, of the rights to health, to gain one's living from work, and to safe working conditions".
The Special Rapporteur said that "sex work should not be conflated with trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation", stressing that "assuming that all sex workers are trafficked denies the autonomy and agency of people who sell sex".
In a Guide issued by the Special Rapporteur in collaboration with other UN experts, Mofokeng indicated that "in systems that criminalise their work, sex workers often avoid seeking proper healthcare for fear of legal consequences, harassment, and judgement, as well as because of the stigmatisation affecting them." The document stresses that sex workers' "health needs include HIV prevention or treatment, but also screening for reproductive cancers, screening for other sexually transmitted infections, trauma counselling, contraceptives, and safe abortion care."
The Special Rapporteur said that the decision made by the European Court of Human Rights is in contradiction with international law. The best way to respect sex workers' human rights is by decriminalising sex work in order to prioritise the welfare of sex workers by ensuring their rights to enjoyment, without discrimination, the right to health, to gain one's living from work, and to safe working conditions.
