Decriminalization of Sex Work is the Key to Success of HIV Programs

HIV Advocates is a program designated to raise HIV awareness and aims to share concise news, developments as well as the movements of human rights as they constantly battle the terrible condition that is HIV. The program has been established back in 1990’s, and it has certainly come a long way as the recent developments of the pharmaceutical industry have allowed people who have this terrible HIV condition to live a lot longer. In any case, the HIV Advocates program is going to be highlighting the role that the decriminalization of sex work is going to have on the success of different HIV programs. 

The cases of sex workers facing severe discrimination and being denied much needed medical assistance for the proper treatment of sexually transmitted infections are without a doubt countless. The truth is that this is mainly due to the fact that sex workers still have an illegal status which pretty much allows discrimination. Furthermore, it attributes to other negative social tendencies such as severe social isolation, stigmatization of the sex workers and much more. This is something that’s going to have an overly negative effect on the entire community. This is due to the fact that once the police officers confiscate the condoms of sex workers; they are going to be forced to resort to unprotected sex which is going to lead to a potential transmittance of other diseases. This is going to raise the overall rate of newly infected HIV positive members of society. 

However, the first steps toward decriminalization of sex workers have been taken by the Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who successfully launched a Sex Worker HIV Plan which is designated to battle against this negative social tendency. If the plan is brought to an end and completion this is going to have a huge success for the proper implementation of HIV Programs such as the HIV Advocates. It is something which acknowledges that sex workers have the rights to dignity, to life as well as to health services. They are also going to get the much needed protection from the legal system which is also quite essential. 

The truth is that unless the sex work is properly decriminalized HIV programs are doomed to fail because there is no merit for them to stand on. They can only advocate the rights that sex workers should be entitled to and protest against them not having them, but apart from that, there is not much they can accomplish. The HIV Plan has set out to change that, and it might be the first attempt to do so properly.

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