Wed, Nov 11, 2009 page8

• EDITORIAL : Protecting the vulnerable

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  Constitutional Interpretation No. 666 can only be described as a victory for human rights. On Friday, the Council of Grand Justices handed down a ruling on penalties for prostitutes that was long overdue. In their decision, the grand justices said Article 80 of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) violates the principle of equality enshrined in Article 7 of the Constitution. The article imposes penalties for the crime of prostitution — but only for sex workers, not their patrons.

  This ruling is to be applauded for two reasons. The grand justices recognized the law as sexist in that most people punished under the act are women, while those who go scot-free are mostly men. But the ruling also recognized the pointlessness and cruelty of imposing penalties on prostitutes.

  “For women forced into the trade because of their economically disadvantaged conditions, such penalties only worsen the situation for them,” the justices said.

  The number of women who enter the sex trade as a lifestyle choice is likely minuscule, and the economic and social factors that lead to prostitution cannot be remedied by threatening sex workers with prison or fines. This is all the more apparent when we consider that many prostitutes are in fact sex slaves, often the victims of human trafficking.

  The sooner this act is amended, the better. It is a stain on the country’s rights record, belying the professed support of the government and legislature for women’s rights and equality. Any amendment is likely to take some time, however, because of the controversial nature of the government’s proposed remedy.

  Rather than simply striking Article 80 from the law books, the Ministry of the Interior proposes legalizing the sex trade. The government has previously expressed support for this option, and on Friday, reiterated its commitment to that goal.

  Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) said the government would respond to the grand justices’ decision by working to legalize the sex trade; removing pressure on police to enforce Article 80; and urging prosecutors to request milder penalties for sex workers at court.

  The latter measures will be helpful until Article 80 is scrapped, but this provision can be killed without legalizing the sex industry. The questions of whether to punish prostitutes and whether prostitution should be legal are separate. The latter is much more divisive, and even women’s rights activists are divided on the matter.

  The debate over how to deal with prostitution is often embroiled in questions of morality and “social order.” The goal of the government’s policy, however, must be to protect the vulnerable. In particular, this means combating systematic abuses associated with the sex industry, including human trafficking, harassment, rape and other physical and psychological abuse.

  Legalizing prostitution is unlikely to achieve this aim; it has not stopped rights abuses in other places that have legalized the sex trade. Yet the ministry seems convinced that this is the road to take. Why?

  What is needed is thorough research into the effectiveness of legalizing the sex trade (as in Amsterdam) versus decriminalizing the sale of sex (as in Sweden, which punishes patrons and not sex workers). There is evidence that the latter is more effective. The ministry should not propose legalizing the sex trade until it can provide a convincing case that this is the best option to combat rights abuses.

  By striking down Article 80, Taiwan would join the ranks of those countries that recognize that socioeconomic factors and human trafficking feed the sex industry. This is to be applauded. But the government’s work cannot stop there.
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