[Ed: Some highlights are extracted here but please read this excellent report in full. Link at bottom of page.]
The Special Rapporteur does not use the terms “sex work” and “sex worker” in the
report. A number of organizations and individuals stated that, in their view, the
aforementioned terms were more appropriate as they were more respectful and dignified for prostituted women; recognized their agency, and underlined that “sex work” was a “legitimate” form of work. While acknowledging these arguments, the Special Rapporteur considers that the term is neither recognized nor defined in international law. In addition, the term wrongly depicts prostitution as an activity as worthy and dignified as any other work; it fails to take into account the serious human rights violations that characterize the prostitution system and “gaslights” victims and their experiences. The Special Rapporteur therefore uses the terms “victims” and “prostituted women and girls” rather than “sex worker”, in
recognition of the scale of the harm experienced and the impairment of fundamental rights and the rights to protection, assistance, compensation and reparations.
. . .
The perceived right of men to purchase a sex act normalizes the systematic violence inflicted on women through prostitution, including in pornography, as it erases the boundaries between what counts as sex and what counts as sexual violence. The violence enacted against women in pornography, such as strangulation and defecation, is often re-enacted against girls and women by those who consume pornography in the physical world, such as
strangulation and defecation. The increase in rape, including gang rape, can be linked to the increased male consumption of pornography. Studies also show that men who pay for sexual acts have a low level of empathy for women in prostitution and feel that they are different from other women. Sexual act buyers are well aware that women in prostitution do not engage voluntarily, but they believe that absolves them of responsibility. A meta-analysis conducted in 2015 found that exposure to non-violent and violent pornography resulted in increases in both attitudes and supporting aggression and actual aggression against women and children. More frequent users of pornography were also the most frequent users of women in prostitution. Many adolescent boys seek out prostituted women and girls to be
“sexually initiated”.
. . .
It is frequently observed that women in prostitution in rich countries are
disproportionately from minority ethnic groups, while sexual act buyers are from majority groups, reinforcing the racist dynamics at work. In the United States of America, for example, Black, latino, Indigenous and native women and girls are overrepresented in the prostitution system, and white men are overrepresented among sexual act buyers.94 Racist fetishization and stereotyping of women in prostitution by sexual act buyers is frequently observed and used as a criterion in the choice of prostituted women.
. . .
The equal participation of women in society is impossible to achieve when
prostitution is normalized and fundamentally based on an inequality between women and men. Women almost exclusively represent “the supply” in the prostitution system, while men represent almost exclusively the demand for prostitution. Prostitution therefore bears a deeply archaic and sexist vision of the role of women and of the relations between women and men, as women are reduced to receptacles for men’s sexual “needs”; as such, there has also been a strong correlation between men’s use of prostitution and rape. The existence
and normalization of prostitution is also a fundamental obstacle to sexuality based on equality.
. . .
Despite its prevalence, legal systems often overlook or inadequately address online prostitution. Cross-border prostitution presents a complex challenge, with criminal networks exploiting differences in legislation between countries to traffic victims across borders. At the core of the pornography business model is the facilitation of video uploads by users. Given minimum regulation, it contains a high percentage of prostitution and trafficking victims, rape, sexual violence, non-consensual
filming and sharing of images, deepfake material, and child sexual abuse material.
. . .
Both the regulation and decriminalization approaches view prostitution as inevitable and the elimination of male demand for sexual acts impossible. Researchers have discovered that, in 150 countries, demand increased when prostitution was legal. Countries that have legalized or decriminalized prostitution have recorded higher rates of sex trafficking, violence, abuse and rape and increased prospects for money laundering and drug trafficking.
. . .
The abolition approach, also known as the “Nordic” or “equality model”, adopted in
Sweden,France,Ireland and Canada, maintains the international standard on the sexual exploitation of the prostitution of others and trafficking in persons by criminalizing third parties and decriminalizing prostituted persons, but adds the criminalization of buyers as the main actors who drive the demand and fuel the commercial sex industry. By shifting the criminal responsibility to the buyer and considering prostituted persons as victims of systemic discrimination, as well as violence against women, it offers prevention, protection and exiting alternatives to them. This approach has demonstrated concrete positive results by improving the situation of persons in or at risk of exploitation; deterring buyers and third
parties; and reducing harmful gender stereotypes.
. . .
International law has established the issue of “irrelevance of consent” within the
framework of trafficking crimes and the exploitation of the prostitution of others. Moreover, there is now a universal trend towards regarding lack of consent as the essential element of rape and sexual abuse. These principles have not, however, been applied to prostitution. The payment and/or promise of payment is the most visible sign of a person being purchased rather than freely giving consent. Survivors frequently attest that, without payment, they would not engage in sexual activities with unknown men; many describe prostitution as “paid rape.” Furthermore, the consent obtained in the context of prostitution is often coerced
through abuse of power by pimps and buyers, as well as by the dire social and economic circumstances faced by prostituted women, where equal economic and social power, physical and mental safety, and real alternatives, are missing for true consent to be possible. Lastly, testimonies of many individuals who report that they had agreed to engage in prostitution on their own reveal patterns of abuse of vulnerability and power, manipulation or coerced prostitution or trafficking while in it, or have been enticed through “lover boy” or other “romantic” relationships.
Source: g2407881.pdf