UK: Descriminalizar a Prostituição
José Vilhena
Last week the UK Royal College of Nursing called on the Government to decriminalise prostitution (*) in an attempt to limit associated negative health consequences. After a vote strongly in favour of decriminalisation, Maura Buchanan, the Deputy President of the College said “Stop making criminals out of prostitutes and instead target the men who abuse them”.
Prostitution, credited with being the oldest profession, will, in all likelihood, be part of cultures around the world for the foreseeable future. In addition to its enduring place in history and global distribution, prostitution is notable for the diversity with which different societies react to its presence. Punishable by death in some Islamic countries, in other parts of the world it is a legal source of income and an important tourist attraction.
Prostitutes also face a diverse array of occupational hazards. Sexually transmitted infections, physical violence from their clients and pimps, psychological disorders, and a life style associated with substance abuse are all common. It is hardly surprising that the standardised mortality ratio for US prostitutes is over three times that of the general population. Compounding these dangers is a propensity to be excluded from routine preventive and therapeutic health care. The complexity of providing adequate health care for prostitutes is increased further by their ethnic diversity and age range; many continue working into their seventh decade.
In decriminalising prostitution the UK Government would be taking a fundamental step to help these often vulnerable people. However, that step is insufficient on its own. What is often lost in debates about groups of people such as prostitutes is that they are just that—real people. They suffer real illness and experience real pain from circumstances often forced on them. Prostitutes, be they men or women, require tailored medical care and treatment with the same respect afforded to other members of the community.
Prostitution, credited with being the oldest profession, will, in all likelihood, be part of cultures around the world for the foreseeable future. In addition to its enduring place in history and global distribution, prostitution is notable for the diversity with which different societies react to its presence. Punishable by death in some Islamic countries, in other parts of the world it is a legal source of income and an important tourist attraction.
Prostitutes also face a diverse array of occupational hazards. Sexually transmitted infections, physical violence from their clients and pimps, psychological disorders, and a life style associated with substance abuse are all common. It is hardly surprising that the standardised mortality ratio for US prostitutes is over three times that of the general population. Compounding these dangers is a propensity to be excluded from routine preventive and therapeutic health care. The complexity of providing adequate health care for prostitutes is increased further by their ethnic diversity and age range; many continue working into their seventh decade.
In decriminalising prostitution the UK Government would be taking a fundamental step to help these often vulnerable people. However, that step is insufficient on its own. What is often lost in debates about groups of people such as prostitutes is that they are just that—real people. They suffer real illness and experience real pain from circumstances often forced on them. Prostitutes, be they men or women, require tailored medical care and treatment with the same respect afforded to other members of the community.
The Lancet - 07.05,05
(*)- Descriminalizar a prostituição, significa abolir de um instituto legal uma infracção relativa à prostituição. Os argumentos a favor da descriminalização assentam em três pontos: nos riscos para a saúde, resultantes da prática da prostituição e das actividades que lhes estão ligadas, tais como o consumo de drogas; na implicação do crime organizado; e na corrupção, característica de outros crimes cometidos no seio desta indústria.
1 Comments:
Acho bem. O espetáculo degradante que se vê na Rua da Alegria, no Porto, a partir logo das 2 da tarde, é confrangedor. Como o futebol, a religião e outros fenómenos idênticos, a prostituição também pode ter uma função de «amortecedor social» (penso que uma grande parte da criminalidade está associada a problemas sexuais, já o dizia Willem Reich, nomeadamente no Combate Sexual da Juventude e na Moral Sexual Repressiva). Legalização porque não, já agora com Certificação de qualidade obrigatória ou, ao menos, Acreditação. Não haverá por aí um King's Fund para este tipo de Acrediotação? Talvez a Liga Portuguesa de Profilaxia Social (sede: na esquina da Rua de Santa Catarina e Passos Manuel,junto ao Magestic, no Porto)
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