User:Hradermacher/sandbox

Decriminalization of Sex Work

Sex work is one of the oldest professions in existence and even though sex work is criminalized in most places  in order to regulate it, the profession has hardly changed at all over time. Those who work in sex trade are more likely to be exploited, trafficked, and victims of assault when sex work is criminalized. Starting in August of 2015, Amnesty International, a global movement free of political, religious, or economic interests to protect people from abuse,  introduced a policy that requested that all countries decriminalized sex work. Amnesty International stated in this policy that decriminalizing sex work would decrease human trafficking through promotion of the health and safety of sex workers by allowing them to be autonomous with protection of the government. This policy gained a large amount of support worldwide from the WHO, UNAIDS, GAATW, and several others, but has not been adopted universally yet.

Mental Health Care
Traumatic sexual events and violence put sex workers at a higher risk for mental health disorders. Women in sex work are specifically have a higher chance of suffering mental health disorders, and even more so for those who are women in minority groups such as LGBTQ+. A study performed in 2010 concluded that Women in sex work were more likely to exhibit signs of PTSD (13%), anxiety(33.7%), and depression(24.4%). Women in sex work experience more obstacles and barriers to gaining mental health care despite their increased risk due to stigma, lack of access to insurance, lack of trust from health care professionals and misogyny.

Primary Health Care
Sex workers are less likely to seek health care or be eligible to seek health care due to negative stigma. Women in sex work are disproportionally treated worse in health care settings.It is a minimal necessity that women in sex work have access to frequent STD/STI testing and treatment, but it is essential that sex workers have the equal access for regular primary care for other ailments as non-sexworkers. UNAIDS researched the percentage rates of accessible prevention services for sex workers in 2010 around the world and concluded that 51% did not have access. Another obstacle for sex workers to gain health care services is that many are unable to, or unwilling to disclose their profession on required medical paperwork making them ineligible to receive medical care.

Life of a Sex Worker in the United States
Sex work in the United States is not different from most of the rest of the world. The United States criminalizes full contact sex work that includes the sale of sexual acts for the exchange of money, goods, or favors unless it is for the porn industry, in this case the law is not black and white. Rural portions of Nevada legalize sex work that includes condoms only. Sex work in the United States also comes with risks of exploitation specifically by police officers. Tamika Spellman, a sex worker within the United States has given personal accounts that police officers have required her to pay for their lunches to not be arrested, however other encounters have not been so easy. Spellman has spoken out against police officers who have sexually assaulted her, which she states happens everywhere in sex work, as well as the financial toll the repeated arrests and fines have cost her, including making her homeless currently. Spellman has children, now who have children of their own, and she says that the repeated arrests also took away from her family life with her children.