Sex Work, Prostitution,
and Preventing HIV
Kirsten Stoebenau, Ph.D.
What is the difference between
sex work and prostitution?
Feminist and Political Debates on Prostitution and Sex Work
Abolitionist
Discourse
Feminist and Political Debates on Prostitution and Sex Work
Christian
Fundamentalism
Radical
Feminism
Abolitionist
Paradigm
Prostitution = Slavery
Policy Response: Rescue and “rehabilitate” victims; e.g. The Anti-Prostitution Pledge
Examples of the Radical Feminist Abolitionist

“All male customers and managers are
motivated by animus: “When men use women in
prostitution, they are expressing a pure hatred
for the female body” (Dworkin 1997, p. 145).

“…if rape is defined as any unwanted sex act,
then prostitution has an extremely high rate of
rape because many survivors view prostitution
as almost entirely consisting of unwanted sex
acts or even, in one person’s words, paid rape.”
(Farley, VAW 2004)
Feminist and Political Debates on Prostitution and Sex Work
Abolitionist
Discourse
Sex Work
Rights
Discourse
Feminist and Political Debates on Prostitution and Sex Work
Sex workers and
their advocates
Sex Work Rights
Paradigm
Sex Work
=
Legitimate form of income generation
Policy Response: Demand human and workers’ rights; e.g. International Mandate for
Prostitutes’ Rights (check wording)
The pro-rights sex work paradigm

“We demand our voices are heard, listened to and
respected. Our experiences are diverse, but all are valid,
and we condemn those who steal our voice and say that
we do not have the capacity to make decisions or
articulate our needs.”

Sex workers should be able to determine, without
interference or pressure from others, the nature and
conditions of the sexual services provided by them.”
from:http://www.sexworkeurope.org/icrse/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=186&la
ng=en-GB, accessed February 19, 2010
The pro-rights sex work paradigm

The lack of acknowledgement of sex work as
labour or a profession has adverse
consequences on the working conditions of sex
workers and denies them access to protection
provided by national and European labour
legislation.
Abolitionism vs. Pro-Rights
Who’s Winning? (And why
does it matter?)
The Global AIDS Act

The Global AIDS Act (HR-1298), passed
into law in 2003 allocated 15 billion
dollars over 5 years to the President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
– Re-authorized in 2008 for another 5 years

Lobbying success of Christian Right and
the Pharmaceutical Industry (50% of
funds in the bill allocated for treatment)
The Anti-Prostitution Pledge

(e) LIMITATION- No funds made available to
carry out this Act… may be used to promote or
advocate the legalization or practice of
prostitution or sex trafficking.

(f) LIMITATION- No funds made available to
carry out this Act… may be used to provide
assistance to any group or organization that
does not have a policy explicitly opposing
prostitution and sex trafficking.
…The Anti-Prostitution Pledge

Pledge is applied to USAID-funded foreign
NGOs through the Global AIDS Act in 2003

USAID-directive extends Pledge to US-based
organizations in 2005
Local constructions of women’s
“sex work” in Antananarivo

Mivarotena = to sell one’s own body

Three forms of mivarotena uncovered by
the research:
– Ambany (low)
– Antonony (in between)
– Ambony (high)
...Local Constructions of women’s
“sex work” in Antananarivo

Women identified in the ambany (low)
or antonony (in between) form are
“Looking for money”

Women identified in the ambony
(high) form are “Looking for foreign
husbands”
The ambany form of “sex work”
The antonony form of “sex work”
The ambony form of “sex work”

Ambany (low): practice informal
exchanges of sex for basic needs

Antonony (in between): practice formal
exchanges to support their families

Ambony (high): practice informal
exchanges to marry a foreign man
Approaches by paradigm

Abolitionists’ Prostitutes: Helpless,
victims- Rescue, rehabilitate, save from
their circumstances.

Pro-Rights Sex Workers’: Openly demand
their rights to practice their profession
free from criminalization and harm
...Programmatic Effects of “The
Pledge”

SANGRAM (Sangli, Maharastra India) a
UNAIDS “best-practices” sex worker peereducator organization
– 2005: SANGRAM refused to sign The Pledge and
therefore denied funding from USAID
– 2005: Rescue International, US State Dept.
funded organization, “rescues” minors from
SANGRAM-affiliated brothels
– US Congressman argues SANGRAM “retrafficked” “rescued minors,” accuses USAID of
negligence for funding SANGRAM 2003 - 2005
Sonagachi Project: Pro-rights
Sex worker paradigm

Occupational therapy approach
– How to improve sex workers working
conditions and their health?

Peer-education between sex workers