Saturday, August 01, 2015

Is there a difference between prostituion by choice and sex traffiking?

Amnesty International believes there is a difference from sex trafficking and a woman's right to prostitution by choice. Internationally prostitution is a method women use to earn a living and even providing an income that supports her family. Many countries don't seek to stop prostitution as a profession. I am sure that will be a reality any candidate for office will have to face. Do the laws and policies of the USA inhibit prostitution while providing a vital path to women who can be self-supporting when provided with training in a new economy?

July 31, 2015
Elizabeth Nolan Brown

Sex workers around the world (click here) aren't taking lightly to a celebrity campaign against decriminalizing prostitution. Hundreds of sex workers, academics, social workers, and human-rights organizations have signed a letter in support of Amnesty International's position that "consensual sexual conduct between adults ... is entitled to protection from state interference."

Amnesty's position has earned the ire of dozens of activist groups, feminist icons like Gloria Steinhem and Eve Ensler, and Hollywood stars including Meryl Streep, Anne Hathway, Carey Mulligan, Lena Dunham, and Phoebe Cates. On July 22, they released a letter calling Amnesty's Draft Policy on Sex Work "deeply disturbing" and equating the decriminalizaiton of prostitution with "gender apartheid." 

In response, the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) drafted its own letter to Amnesty. "We are aware that Amnesty International will be pressured to back down from this position, but we urge you to show courage and tenacity and to adopt this policy," it states. "Sex workers worldwide are organizing and advocating, often in very precarious and dangerous contexts, for the decriminalization of sex work. Having Amnesty International take this position would make a significant contribution to promoting sex workers’ human rights and protecting them from discrimination and violence."...

The USA is a prime location for sex trafficking. Men pay well here for sex. When will women across the world be valued to the point where their countries can value women as a wage earner and not a sex commodity.

July 31, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — After just an hour of deliberation, (click here) the verdict is in for a White Bear Lake man accused of sex trafficking crimes.
A Ramsey County jury found Michael Mark Jordan, 43, guilty on two counts of engaging in prostitution with a minor Friday afternoon. Each conviction carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
According to the Ramsey County Attorney’s office, Jordan purchased sex from a 17-year-old girl on a number of occasions between December 2012 and July 2013. In April of this year, Jordan was arrested and charged with another man — 54-year-old Steven Robert Kjelstad. Kjelstad pled guilty in June and will be sentenced on August 28....

I can't but think the loss of former Secretary Clinton in the US State Department caused increases in prostitution internationally resulting in this policy from Amnesty International.

Sometimes it takes a woman to garner respect for all women. Just that simple.