About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

33 Fordham Int'l L.J. 1178 (2009-2010)
Sex Work and Human Rights in Africa

handle is hein.journals/frdint33 and id is 1190 raw text is: SEX WORK AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA Chi Mgbako* Laura A. Smith INTRODUCTION This Article serves as the first law review essay to engage the feminist debates regarding sex work and human rights in the African context. The Article surveys antiprostitution and pro- sex-worker feminist arguments and activities in sub-Saharan Africa; explores the debate surrounding the legal frameworks of legalization, decriminalization, prohibition, and abolition of prostitution in a number of African countries including Senegal, where prostitution is legal and regulated, and South Africa where prostitution remains illegal despite civil society advocacy for decriminalization; and calls for the empowerment of African sex workers by arguing for a human rights-based transformation in African governments' legal and policy posture towards sex work. The antiprostitution feminist camp characterizes prostitution as an exploitative institution of patriarchy, a form of sexual slavery and violence against women, and therefore a violation of women's rights.' They have used the human rights paradigm as a clarion call to save women from prostitution.- The pro-sex-worker feminist camp, on the other hand, uses the language of human rights to advocate for sex workers' protection by characterizing sex work as a legitimate profession.3 * Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Fordham Law School; Director, Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic; J.D. Harvard Law School; B.A. Columbia University. The authors wish to thank Meghan Gabriel, Libby Mooers, and Zaid Hydari for research assistance. ** 2008-2009 Dean's Fellow, Leitner Center for International Law and justice, Fordham Law School; J.D. Fordham Law School; B.A. Barnard College. 1. See KATHLEEN BARRY, THE PROSTITUTION OF SEXUALITY 278 (1995); MAGGIE O'NEILL, PROSTITUTION & FEMINISM 18 (2001). 2. Joyce Outshoorn, The Political Debates on Prostitution and Trafficking of Women, 12 Soc. POL. 141, 145 (2005). 3. See Melissa Ditmore, Addressing Sex Work as Labor (1999) (unpublished essay, Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery) (on file with authors). 1178

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most