Breaking Free Opposes Amnesty International’s
Call to Legalize Prostitution
The buying and selling of human beings violates the
human rights of women and children.
A proposed policy by international human rights organization Amnesty International calls for the
legalization of prostitution worldwide. “Criminalization of sex work prevents people from
exercising their human rights,” states a December 2013 news briefing from Amnesty
International UK.i “It is…based on a naïve view of sex workers as victims which denies the
possibility that they have made a legitimate choice in engaging in this work. It is a mistake to
believe that all sex work is a form of forced labor.”
“Amnesty International’s proposed policy would be extremely harmful to women and girls
trafficked into prostitution,” stated Vednita Carter, executive director of Breaking Free, a St.
Paul organization that has helped over 5,000 exploited women and girls escape sex trafficking
and exploitation. “This policy ignores the fact that a life of trafficking is harmful and dangerous
for women and girls.”
A 1998 study found that 89% of prostituted women wanted to get out but didn’t know where to
turn for help.ii Another study, conducted in 2010, found that the average age of entry into
prostitution is 12-14 years old.iii “These are not adult women making a choice,” said Carter.
“We’re talking about children who are coerced and manipulated into selling their bodies for the
benefit of a pimp.” Carter noted that research has indicated that 75% of prostituted women are
controlled by a sex trafficker or pimp. iv “At Breaking Free, 71% of the women we work with
have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from being trafficked. 83% have been assaulted with a
deadly weapon. 57% are victims of kidnapping. You cannot argue that being prostituted is not
harmful to a human being,” Carter said.
Carter added, “Prostitution is the new age slavery. As Americans, we must consider what
historical slavery looked like for African American people. During this era, there were some
slaves who believed that slavery was not a bad thing. They felt that they were better off being
enslaved. However, in the end it didn’t matter if a person liked slavery or not, if slavery hurt one
person it was hurting everyone who was enslaved. The result was the Emancipation
Proclamation, which I believe needs to be revisited because slavery by no means has ended in
our society. As long as men are still buying women and girls for sex, the tragedy of slavery lives
on.”
Breaking Free has been working with national and Minnesota lawmakers to ensure that
trafficked girls and women are considered victims, not criminals. In 2011, with Breaking Free’s
www.breakingfree.net
P.O. Box 4366 St. Paul, MN 55104
651.645.6557
support, Minnesota passed Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Youth legislation that
decriminalized prostitution offenses for youth under 18. Carter stated, “When trafficked women
and girls are able to access help, instead of punishment, they are able to truly break free from the
chains that bind them to their traffickers. However, men who buy women and girls and the
people who traffic in humans must be punished for the lifelong harm they cause to their victims.”
Carter noted the recent trials of Otis Washington, Antonio Washington, and other members of a
sex trafficking ring in St. Paul, which resulted in record sentences for sex trafficking. “They were
predators who targeted some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Legalization of
sex trafficking would allow men like them to continue to hurt the women and girls who need our
help the most.”
To contact Amnesty International USA:
Amnesty International USA
5 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 633-4254 (Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm EST)
Fax: (212) 627-1451
Email: [email protected]
i
http://protectthehuman.amnesty.org.uk/sites/default/files/international_issues_news_35_dec_2013___decriminalization_of_sex_work.pdf
ii
Melissa Farley, PhD and Howard Barkan, DrPH. “Prostitution, Violence Against Women, and Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder.” Women and Health. Haworth Press, Inc., 1998
iii
The Polaris Project, “Street Prostitution,” 2010
iv
Richard J. Estes and Neil Weiner, “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U. S., Canada and
Mexico,” University of Pennsylvania, February 2002
www.breakingfree.net
P.O. Box 4366 St. Paul, MN 55104
651.645.6557