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Saturday, 08 April 2006 07:19 |
In many countries that have legalised sex work, sex workers are required by law to have regular health checks. Only if they have these check ups and are found to be free of STI's (Sexually Transmitted Infections) can they work legally as sex workers.
Anyone selling sex who has not been for his/her check up or who does not have a "clean bill of health" is subject to arrest and prosecution.
The purpose of mandatory health testing is to control the spread of STI’s, particularly HIV. Sex workers are traditionally regarded as "vectors of disease" who can potentially infect a large number of people.
Mandatory Health Checks are not successful in controlling or preventing the spread of STI's. In fact, evidence has shown that compulsory health checks create a false sense of security which causes clients and sex workers to be less vigilant about practising safer sex and therefore increases the spread of STI's. Window periods in which infections cannot be detected
It is common knowledge that certain diseases, such as HIV, can exist in the body for a certain period without being picked up in medical tests. The virus can be transmitted during this period. A client who expects a sex worker to be free of STI's because he/she has a health certificate stipulating this, may be more likely to insist on unprotected sex and may become infected. Mandatory testing thus increases the risk of contracting HIV rather than minimising this risk.
Violation of rights
The South African Constitution guarantees the right not to be unfairly discriminated against, the right to dignity, the right to privacy, and the right to freedom and security of the person. All these rights would be violated by laws requiring sex workers to have compulsory checkups.
Furthermore, compulsory testing for HIV contravenes the HIV/AIDS Charter.
Sex workers are made responsible for the spread of HIV & STI’s
Requiring sex workers to undergo mandatory health checks places the responsibility for the transfer of STI's solely with the sex worker. The medical fact that male clients are more likely to infect female sex workers is ignored.
By requiring only sex workers to have check ups, authorities are stating that they are not interested in the health of the sex worker but are merely concerned with the health of the client.
Furthermore, by criminalising sex workers who are infected, authorities discourage sex workers from being tested.
Records can be used to discriminate against sex workers.
In conjunction with any system of mandatory health checks for sex workers there needs to be some form of registration of sex workers, whether this occurs at the clinics or on a national level. These records can potentially be used to discriminate against sex workers. For example, if a sex worker applies for another job, the prospective employer may find out that she has worked as a sex worker via these records and may discriminate against her as a result.
Sex workers will best be able to ensure their own health and insist on safer sex in an environment that promotes voluntary and confidential health checks and an environment in which they are not criminalised . It is therefore essential to provide sex workers with safe access to health and other services.
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