Human rights slam govt stand on sex workers
Sharon Mathala | Tuesday November 19, 2013 15:53
The AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, in a statement, strongly denounced this campaign and called for an end of the campaign in a statement.
The Botswana government's 'Draft Strategies to Address Key Populations' has been reported by local and international media to include a recommendation to detain sex workers and deport 'foreign sex workers'.
The statement claims that this has materialised with the arrest of at least 30 women suspected of being sex workers earlier this month.
The Botswana Police Services has allegedly confirmed that some suspects were under the custody of the Department of Immigration for possible deportation.
Terming the campaign as a direct violation of human rights, the statement says 'detaining women presumed to be sex workers violates the right to be free from arbitrary arrest or detention pursuant to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 9) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Article 6)'.
It also condemns the forced expulsion of foreigners as it violated international law.
'State actors are not permitted to deprive anyone of her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.
'A crackdown on sex workers and other marginalised communities also promotes a climate of fear and repression that wrests control from sex workers over their working conditions, discourages sex workers from carrying condoms and accessing sexual and reproductive health services, undermining any effort to address HIV,' states the statement.
The government's plans have also faced strong opposition from human rights group Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA).
In a statement, BONELA says: 'We accordingly collaborated with nested organisations and mobilised our members in the sex work and men who have sex with other men community to take part in the survey in the belief that the government will use the findings to create an inclusive and accommodative environment.'
'The Botswana government has now done what is totally unexpected and deviated from the study findings by taking punitive, discriminatory, homophobic and xenophobic measures,' said BONELA.
The joint statement by ARASA and Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network echoed the UNAIDS and the Global Commission on HIV and Law that states that 'laws that penalise or criminalise sex work contribute to working conditions that increase sex workers' vulnerability to HIV'.
'There is very little evidence to suggest that any criminal laws related to sex work stop demand for sex or reduce the number of sex workers. Rather, all of them create an environment of fear and marginalisation for sex workers, who often have to work in remote and unsafe locations to avoid arrest of themselves or their clients.'