Rights activists join sex debate

The Gender Sexuality Rights Association (性別人權協會) spoke out yesterday to push for the decriminalization of adultery and legalization of the sex industry.

The association's secretary-general, Wang Ping (王蘋), pointed out during a press conference that the concept of adultery has been manufactured by a traditional patriarchy and has only restricted the freedom of women.

The recent string of incidents targeting female politicians -- be it verbal violence or privacy infringement -- have seriously defiled these women's right to enjoy their sex life and the right to keep their sexual activity private, Wang said.

"These incidents also demonstrate that the rights of women to political participation have been undermined due to a breach of their right to engage in sex," Wang added.

Josephine Ho (何春蕤), an advisor to the association and also coordinator of the Center for the Study of Sexuality at National Central University (中央大學), shared the same view.

The right to sex means unmarried female politicians should not have to face public doubts or questioning over their single status, Ho argued.

"Adultery is not necessarily tantamount to a moral deficiency and should be decriminalized since those acts should not have been criminalized in the first place," Ho said.

Adults' sexual relations that occur on the basis of mutual consent -- such as adultery and working in the sex trade -- should be respected and not viewed as criminal in nature.

As a result, "using the word `prostitute' to insult a woman simply denigrates sex workers," she added.

Wang Fang-ping (王芳萍), chairwoman of the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters (日日春關懷互助協會), who was also present at the press conference, agreed.

She said that DPP lawmaker Lin Chung-mo (林重謨) was out of line to call independent legislator-elect Sisy Chen (陳文茜) a prostitute.

Wang, who has long championed the rights of sex workers, said "Sex workers are not the shameless women that Lin thinks they are. Their profession should be legalized and they should not have to bear a social stigma"

Commenting on the recent Scoop Weekly case -- in which the magazine distributed VCDs allegedly featuring a female former politician's sexual encounter with a married man -- all of the women's rights activists present expressed their utmost support for the victim and called for the decriminalization of adultery.

Even Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) single status has been the subject of jokes, Ho said, adding that society must end discrimination against unmarried women.