Glenda Simms
PROSTITUTION AND abortion are two issues that make so many of
us uncomfortable, ambivalent, self-righteous and hypocritical.
Both of these issues affect the lives of significant numbers of women and girls in much of the world. While it is true that a number of men and boys are prostitutes, and that for every unwanted pregnancy there is a voluntary or coerced sperm donor, the impact of both prostitution and abortion is overwhelmingly felt by the female of the species.
It is against this background that the current discussion on how to revisit the importance of the so-called sex workers in the Jamaican society takes on some interesting twists and turns.
In the April 4, 2006 edition of The Gleaner, Petrina Francis, staff reporter, informed her readers that Mr. Lascelles Chin of the Lasco Group of Companies used his insights into prostitution and the control of the HIV/AIDS in Thailand to call upon the Jamaican society to "be more practical and accept commercial sex workers in an effort to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS."
BIG INCOME EARNER
Ms. Francis deduced from Mr. Chin's arguments that it is possible
and desirable to accept that which is not legal.
Furthermore, she points out that Mr. Chin reminds us that "Sex is a big income earner, it is big in the workforce."
Mr. Chin's insights were informed by his inclusion in a high-level
delegation which recently visited Thailand the infamous child prostitution
centre of the world.
Ms. Francis' article did not enlighten us on the composition of the high-level mission to Thailand. It would be interesting to learn if any woman was included.
Also, it is important to know whether any member of the delegation interviewed some of the sex workers and got their point of view on the benefits and challenges of their work. We really need to know who is making the big money from this so-called profession.
LESSONS TO LEARN
This point of view should, at the very least, inform the lessons that we might possibly learn from the Thailand experience.
Prostitution is illegal in Jamaica, but the Government has ratified and reports regularly on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Article 6 of this Human Rights Treaty gives clear direction on prostitutes in the following:
"State parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and of women."
Clearly, it is the exploitation of women that is of concern to all decent populations. In the sex trade it should now be obvious that the persons who should be criminalised are the 'johns' who drive the demand side of the sex trade, the men and women who exploit the helplessness of poor children and their families by buying sex from them, and the traffickers who lure the little girls and teenagers from their rural communities to the brothels, go-go clubs and other venues of sexual exploitation.
BRING CRIMINALS TO JUSTICE
When these criminals are apprehended and brought in front of the justice system, a more proactive and successful campaign to prevent prostitutes from contracting and spreading sexually transmitted diseases would be ensured.
A 2001 Exploratory Study on HIV/AIDS prevention and education
for commercial sex workers in Jamaica by A. Campbell and P. Campbell concluded
that any initiative to address this population should be approached in a holistic
framework.
These researchers argued that such initiatives should be "culturally
and sensitively responsive to the dynamic and complex nature of commercial sex
work in Jamaica."
They described such 'workers' and their clientele as "diverse" and "non-homogeneous".
It means, therefore, that Mr. Chin and all others who are advising
on, or implementing programmes directed at prostitutes of both genders should
find out where such persons carry out their activities in order to find the
most effective methods of condom distribution, skills training, education and
empowerment.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE
This might be easier said than done. Why? Because the so-called 'sex workers' are usually understood to be a group of scantily-clad, peroxide 'black blondes' who fend off mosquitos and grass lice while they wait for the 'big man' in the criss car along the streets and lanes adjacent to Jamaica House and Devon House.
Less visible and perhaps hidden from our collective consciousness
are the uptown call girls who work out of rented apartments and bachelor pads,
trafficked women from Russia, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, and the nice
housewives who make a bit of pin money on the side while they relieve the stress
of high society isolation and soul-destroying boredom in the corridors of wealth
and trophy wifehood.
Even more hidden are the young men and boys who, for sexual services, get picked up in fancy automobiles by married and unmarried men of various sexual orientations and/or
tendencies.
ACCESS TO CONDOMS
In the April 15, 2006 edition of The Gleaner, Dr. Doreen Brady-West challenged Mr. Lascelles Chin's ideas about the prostitute as a legitimate worker. She argues that every sexually active person, including prostitutes, should have access to condoms either through their purchasing power or free of cost.
This means that there should be condom points in all public washrooms, hotel rooms, baskets or bowls on guidance counsellors'
desks, in nursing stations and hospital lobbies, church vestries, police stations,
prisons, doctors' waiting rooms, gyms, nightclubs, the Houses of Parliament,
local government offices, construction sites and in all places where human beings
think about, contemplate, negotiate and engage in sexual activities.
PRACTICAL AND INNOVATIVE
In all of these initiatives, we have to be both practical and
innovative. We need to remember that physical and psychological survival has
to be the constant preoccupation of prostitutes on the mean streets of our suburbs
and inner-city communities. In fact, even those who are protected from the direct
glare of the chastising society know that they have to service some very freaky
men parading as human beings.
Therefore, in order to prevent the spread of HIV, we must protect
women, girls and boys in the sex trade from the debilitating effects of poverty,
gender-based violence and the commodification of the female body.
The wholesale issuing of condoms is the easiest first step in
the journey to rid our society of exploitation and the devaluation of significant
sectors of the population.
Yes, we must continue the discussions on the uncomfortable subjects
and become more focused on the role of the sex trade in the spread of the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
MOST STIGMATISED HEALTH CONDITION
This disease is indeed the most stigmatised health condition
in human history, and female prostitutes are the most stigmatised and discriminated
against group of women in all societies.
Perhaps Mr. Lascelles Chin and his colleagues did learn a few
facts about Thailand and its prostitution industry, and such cross-cultural
insights can help to show us the way forward. However, we need to look at other
models of dealing with the so-called world's oldest profession.
The June 19, 2005 edition of the Edmonton Journal highlighted
a series of articles written by Renata D'Alessio.
The titles speak for themselves:
Rashmi struggles to escape street
life while a serial killer prowls.
Johns go to school.
The secret life of escorts.
The lobbying prostitutes.
The boom in porno videos.
Life after prostitution.
MANPOWER AND MONEY
All these stories could offer another view of how Jamaica could
deal with the multifaceted concerns of sex workers. As
D'Alessio points out, "Manpower and money have focused on the women on the streets
the prostitution everyone sees. These women are the ones residents complain
about. They are the ones being killed."
This view of the prostitute, aka sex worker, is the crux of our
ambivalence and confusion and our resultant incapacity to deal with the feminisation
of the HIV/AIDS scourge.
Thanks to Mr. Chin for producing the most challenging headline
on a most uncomfortable matter.
Dr. Glenda Simms is a gender
expert and consultant.
