Liz Ford
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| A sex worker waits for customers in La Pampa, in Peru’s Madre de Dios region. Currently UN Women does not have a specific policy position on the issue of sex work. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP |
UN Women’s online consultation process excludes sex workers from developing nations, already some of society’s most marginalised people, warn rights activists
UN Women has come under fire from rights activists for launching an online consultation on its sex worker policy that will, they say, exclude the opinion of thousands of people in poorer countries.
The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) said many of the sex workers who will be affected by any UN policy change live in developing countries where access to the internet remains low.
The NSWP also criticised the UN agency for the short timescale of the six-week consultation, which closes on 16 October, and for framing it in bureaucratic language that will be largely meaningless to people unfamiliar with UN agreements or terminology.
UN Women said it is drawing up a number of policy positions in light of the sustainble development goals (SDGs), which were adopted by the UN general assembly last September. Currently UN Women does not have a specific policy position on the issue of sex work.
Ruth Morgan Thomas, NSWP global coordinator, said the consultation should include national surveys and face-to-face interviews to gauge a true picture of life for sex workers.
Morgan Thomas said the network welcomed the fact that UN Women wanted to have a discussion about its sex worker policy, but “the reality is that the majority of sex workers in developing countries have limited access to the internet”.
She said the consultation was not available in many languages, further excluding workers in countries where literacy levels are low.
The process “addresses privileged women”, and was “not an accessible consultation process for a community that UN Women recognises are marginalised”.
“This, for me, is not an accountable, transparent way to connect with sex workers,” said Morgan Thomas.
Purna Sen, director of UN Women’s policy division, said that over the past few years, the agency had met many organisations and individuals to discuss the issue.
“This current period of consultation is one phase in that larger conversation. Other methods of communications with interested parties are under way – we seek wide participation.”
She said the consultation is being conducted in all official UN languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
“It is in recognition of the contentious nature of the debate on this issue that we are consulting widely, hoping to ensure that those who wish to have a say can do so.
“Our call takes the SDGs and agenda 2030 as the frame. We are keen to see and hear contributions from the global south. Anyone who has knowledge or experience of this issue is welcome to contribute, no matter their position,” Sen added.
Feedback from the consultation will feed into a policy paper that is expected to be made public next year.
In a concept note on sex work published in 2013, UN Women said sex workers were “rights holders like all other women and men and should be recognised as such”.
It also said it supported the regulation of sex work to protect sex workers from abuse and, as a co-sponsor of UNAids – which supports the decriminalisation of sex work – it wanted to ensure sex workers have access to services, including HIV treatment.
Sex workers are among the most marginalised groups in the world, often facing human rights violations, including harassment, arrests and lack of access to basic health and social services.
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