UNDP releases report examining impact of laws regarding sex work, effectiveness of HIV response

The UNDP on Thursday released a report, titled "Sex Work and the Law," which "examines 48 countries in Asia and the Pacific to assess laws, legal policies and law enforcement practices that affect the human rights of sex workers and impact on the effectiveness of HIV responses," according to a UNDP press release. "Where sex work has been decriminalized, there is a greater chance for safer sex practices through occupational health and safety standards across the industry," the press release states, noting, "The report describes countries that use punitive law enforcement practices, confiscate condoms as evidence of illegal conduct, require compulsory or coerced HIV testing, deny government services and certain rights to sex workers, and have compulsory detention centers"; "highlights current laws, policies and practices that are helpful to HIV responses"; and "highlights how significant advances in recognition of the rights of sex workers can occur even in contexts where the sex industry is illegal" (10/18).