The Brief
Over 43,000 women were arrested
An influential human-rights group
weighs the legalization of sex work
For Marian Hatcher, prostitution
was not a choice. Ensnared in an abu-
sive relationship with a man she says
hooked her on crack and then pimped
her out, she describes years spent host-
ing “sex parties” in a basement. Eleven
years after her arrest and rehabilitation,
Hatcher now counsels trafficking vic-
tims in the Chicago area and works with
police to catch sex buyers. Best of all,
she is reunited with her five kids. “On
Mother’s Days I tried to smoke enough
crack to blow my heart up,” she recalls
of her years selling sex. “It is not work.
It’s not an occupation.”
The question of whether prostitution
is inherently exploitative is as old as
the sex trade itself, but now the human-
rights organization Amnesty Interna-
BY THE NUMBERS
Spicy food’s new
health perk
A study of 487,375 adults saw an
association between spicy food and
longevity. People who ate spicy food
had a lower death risk during a seven-
year period than those who avoided it.
PROSTITUTION: LM OTERO — A P; CHILI PEPPER: GE T T Y IMAGES
tional is wading into the debate. On
Aug. 11 the group is scheduled to vote
on a draft proposal that would recom-
mend complete global decriminaliza-
tion for both buyers and sellers of sex.
Pointing to research long promoted by
sex-industry advocates, Amnesty’s pro-
posal suggests that bringing sex work-
ers out from the shadows would enable
them to seek protection from abuse and
give them better access to health and
social services. The U.N. has also pub-
lished reports suggesting that legalizing
prostitution would reduce AIDS.
Amnesty International lobbies
for human rights in more than 190
countries, but can’t make or enforce
laws. Still, its recommendations carry
weight—Amnesty’s activism has led to
14% 1–2
REDUCTION IN DAYS PER WEEK
RISK OF DEATH with some portion
for people who ate spicy of a meal containing
food three to seven days spicy food was all it
per week, compared took for people to
with people who ate have a 10% reduced
the least amount of risk of death
spicy food
for prostitution in the U.S. in 2010
the release of tens of thousands of po-
litical prisoners since 1961.
The proposal on prostitution has set
off a firestorm of opposition from faith
groups, other human-rights advocates,
feminist organizations and celebrities
like Meryl Streep and Lena Dunham.
They argue that full legalization would
enrich pimps but do little to help pros-
tituted women, whom they describe as
vulnerable and often trafficked from
poor nations. They want resources for
those who sell sex but punishment for
those who buy or profit from it, point-
ing to countries like Sweden, which
banned the purchase of sex in 1999.
And they cite a 2012 study in the jour-
nal World Development that found that
where prostitution is legal, trafficking
increases to meet demand.
The data on this subject is not per-
fect, but it suggests that the majority of
people who work in the sex industry do
so against their will. The U.N.-affiliated
International Labor Office estimated in
2014 that more than 4.5 million people
work in forced prostitution, and sexual
exploitation generates an estimated
$99 billion a year (in a sex industry val-
ued at around $186 billion total, accord-
ing to a report cited by the European
Parliament). Amnesty’s argument is that
decriminalizing and regulating the in-
dustry could prevent this exploitation.
Even if Amnesty votes yes on the
proposal, it won’t be official unless the
board approves it in October. But as
lawmakers in France and parts of the
U.K. consider laws against buying sex
while sex workers agitate loudly for
full legalization, the debate is sure to
continue. —charlotte alter
11%
REDUCTION IN
CANCER-DEATH RISK
in people who ate food
spiced with fresh chilies
six or more days a week,
compared with those
who ate the least amount
of spicy food
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