A new report issued by a UN commission established by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon claims that all nations must legalize prostitution as part of any successful effort to deal with the AIDS pandemic.  This report, titled “HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights & Health” also calls for the legalization and destigmatization of injection drug use and sexual relations between males—all in the name of AIDS prevention.

Ironically, the report acknowledges that “sex workers” (the euphemism used for prostitutes), intravenous drug users, and “men who have sex with men” have the highest incidence of AIDS, yet the commission still calls upon nations to legalize and destigmatize these risky behaviors.  

We could have predicted the recommendations because the commission was stacked with committed “sexual rights” activists.  The report simply recycles the same discredited arguments that have been made for some time now by UNAIDS and other UN agencies, which are reflected in the UNAIDS “International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights.”  (Click here for our policy brief on the Guidelines and here to see our brief on failed UN HIV/AIDS policies.)

The argument the report uses for legalizing high-risk behaviors is a common argument used by sexual rights activists and goes something like this:
In many countries, prostitutes, drug users and male homosexuals feel marginalized or fearful because their behavior is outlawed and not considered acceptable by the society in which they live.  As a result, they argue, these “vulnerable” individuals will not come forward for counseling, testing and treatment, and so they will continue to spread AIDS at a much higher rate than the general population.  Sexual rights activists claim that governments must not only legalize these high-risk behaviors but also destigmatize them through public campaigns and comprehensive sexuality education programs in the schools so that these high-risk individuals will not be discouraged from taking advantage of HIV-related services.

The problem with his logic is that it ignores the fact that these groups generally have much higher rates of HIV infections than the general population, not lower rates.  This is the case even in developed countries.  In France the HIV infection rate among MSM is said to be “out of control.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a fact sheet showing that the only group in the U.S. in which HIV infection rates are dramatically rising is in the population of men who have sex with men, even though homosexual sex is legal in the U.S. and is increasingly being “destigmatized.”  

The major reason for these outcomes is the simple fact that whatever behavior you legalize and destigmatize in society will likely increase, not decrease.  Therefore, wherever the recommendations in this UN report are implemented there will likely be more AIDS cases, not fewer.

Wouldn’t it be better to simply establish confidentiality laws and policies that would allow high-risk individuals to obtain HIV-related services without fear of being penalized for seeking help?  Wouldn’t it be better to set up programs that would provide counseling to help people change their high-risk behaviors rather than condone them?

What is really behind this push to protect these high-risk behaviors in the name of HIV/AIDS prevention?  It is a thinly-disguised manipulation of the AIDS pandemic and the UN system by sexual rights activists to mainstream promiscuous sexual behavior in societies around the world, regardless of the consequences.

This commission revealed its bias when they cited the notorious Yogyakarta Principles in their report as a guide for promoting the sexual rights of “sexual minorities.”  (See our brief on this radical document here.)  Among other assertions, the Yogyakarta Principles, which was created by international sexual rights activists, is their claim that “sexual rights” trump free speech and religious liberty rights.  The Principles even claim that governments are obligated to help people with sex-change operations.

This UN commission report is just the most recent example of sexual rights advocates putting their agenda ahead of any other considerations including the safety and health of individuals as well as the larger society.

With your continued support, Family Watch will continue to work to expose this radical sexual rights agenda that is promoting fictitious sexual rights at the expense of sexual health and stop it from doing more damage to individuals and families. 

Sincerely,

Sharon Slater
. President

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