The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) joins with sex worker rights organizations around the world in calling for the voices and perspectives of sex workers to be heard by the European Parliament when they vote on 26 February 2014 on the recommendation of the European Parliament’s Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee (FEMM) to criminalize the clients of sex workers.
The recommendation of the report approved by FEMM runs counter to the advice, experience, and recommendations of sex workers’ rights organizations in Europe and globally. Research has shown that the criminalization of sex workers and/or their clients will only increase the vulnerability of sex workers and will not lead to a decline in sex work nor a reduction in levels of violence against sex workers.[1]
AWID supports sex worker rights organizations and their allies in calling for the diverse experiences and voices of sex workers to be central to any changes in policy and law and demands the full and equitable rights of all sex workers, including to health and safety, in the European Union and beyond.
The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) is an international, feminist membership organization committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights.
[1] Please see: