Anti-Prostitution Pledge

Last updated on: July 23, 2012 at 9:24 am by Lia Scholl

Anti-Prostitution Pledge 2012-07-23T09:24:40-06:00 Lia Scholl

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Are you aware that funding from the United States is given to NGOs (non-governmental organizations) around the world to fight HIV/AIDS? Are you also aware that they have to sign an anti-prostitution pledge to receive those funds? The pledge reads like this:

No funds…may be used to provide assistance to any group or organization that does not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking.

It also restricts the use of those funds like this:

No funds…may be used to promote or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution or sex trafficking.

This means that the $48 billion dollars we give in fighting HIV/AIDS doesn’t go to make the lives of sex workers safer. CHANGE, the Center for Health and Gender Equity says this about the pledge:

…increasing condom use among sex workers requires direct engagement, training, demonstrations of correct use, training on negotiating with clients, and collective action among sex workers, all of which could potentially be considered under the policy as “promoting prostitution.”

According to a 2005 article in the Medical News Today, this ruling was supported by, among others, the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Sex workers can be a powerful ally in preventing HIV/AIDS. They can advocate for safer sex, teach techniques and procedures to help prevent the transmission of the disease, and instead of blocking these resources from sex workers, should we be enlisting sex workers in the fight against HIV/AIDS?

Today, at the 2012 International AIDS Conference being held in DC, sex workers and their allies called for an end to this Anti-Prostitution Pledge.

More than two hundred organizations and individuals have signed on to a declaration demanding the U.S. repeal and eliminate restrictions on domestic and global AIDS funds, which currently prevent sex workers around the world from receiving life saving HIV services and medicines.

You can read the full declaration here and sign your support: http://sexworkandhiv.org/

Previous Post

July 19, 2012

Sex Work and Arrest

Next Post

July 24, 2012 AIDS in America

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Agency Being Human Church Community Exegesis God Harm Reduction I Heart Sex Workers Love Poverty Relationships Sermon Sex Work Uncategorized Vocation Women Writing

Select a Month June 2013 May 2013 December 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Apocalypse" mean in Greek?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Victory Destruction Revelation Judgment