ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Decriminalising sex work in Antigua & Barbuda, according to the PRO of the Caribbean Sex Workers Coalition, can help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
In an interview with OBSERVER Media, Craig Rijkaard said social standards on the island are putting families at risk, as clients of prostitutes return to their wives or significant others.
“If we are not protecting the sex workers then it means that our families are not being protected and then it means that if you’re talking about the spread of HIV and getting to zero … we are sending one message but doing something else and that definitely isn’t getting to zero,” Rijkaard declared.
The PRO said decriminalisation of sex work in the country is a more immediate and effective course of action, as the process of seeking to reverse current legislation can be an intricate and protracted process.
“We are talking about giving adults that consenting right to choose the professions that they want to choose, in an atmosphere that is equal and they are not being stigmatised because they don’t choose the same profession as someone else,” he noted.