Anti-prostitution pledge

The U.S. government requires NGOs that receive federal anti-HIV/AIDS or anti-trafficking funds to adopt an organization-wide policy opposing prostitution and sex-trafficking. This requirement, known as the anti-prostitution pledge, has been in place since 2003. Initially it was only applied to foreign-based NGOs, but in 2005 it was expanded to cover U.S.-based organizations as well, resulting in ongoing court challenges on First Amendment grounds. The policy has also been criticized as counterproductive.

Legislation and implementation

U.S. President George W. Bush announced the five-year $15 billion President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in January 2003; Congress passed it in May 2003 under the name "United States Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act (Global AIDS Act)". The act identifies prostitution and sex trafficking as contributing to the spread of HIV and explicitly advances a new policy goal for the US: the eradication of prostitution. [ [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ025.108.pdf US Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003 HR 1298] . 22 U.S.C. §§ 7601-7682. 108th Congress. Retrieved 5 September 2008] The act further states:
* "No funds [...] may be used to promote or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution or sex trafficking."
* "No funds [...] may be used to provide assistance to any group or organization that does not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking."
* nothing in the anti-prostitution clause "shall be construed to preclude" services to prostitutes, including testing, care and prevention services, including condoms.

In December 2003 Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act which provided for funding of anti-trafficking activities, subject to the following restrictions.
* "No funds [...] may be used to promote, support, or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution."
* "No funds [...] may be used to implement any program [...] through any organization that has not stated in either a grant application, a grant agreement, or both, that it does not promote, support, or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/61130.htm Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003] , 22 U.S.C. §§ 7101-7110 (2003). Retrieved 5 September 2008.]

The anti-prostitution pledge language in both acts was authored by Representative Chris Smith, Republican from New Jersey.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 amended the AIDS Authorization to exempt the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Health Organization, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and any United Nations agency from having to sign the anti-prostitution pledge.

While the language of the legislation does not distinguish between foreign and US-based organizations, the pledge was initially only enforced for the former, as the US Department of Justice had expressed First Amendment concerns. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/17/AR2005051701247.html U.S. Backs Off Stipulation on AIDS Funds] , "Washington Post", 18 May 2005] [ [http://brennan.3cdn.net/46e14203736808de8b_66m6iyhy8.pdf Letter from Justice Department to Judiciary Committee] , 24 September 2003] In September 2004 a letter by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Levin reversed this opinion, and the U.S. Agency for International Development issued a directive in June 2005 that expanded the pledge requirement to all NGOs. [http://www.usaid.gov/business/business_opportunities/cib/pdf/aapd05_04.pdf Implementation of the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003 – Eligibility Limitation on the Use of Funds and Opposition to Prostitution and Sex Trafficking.] , (June 9,2005). Retrieved 5 September 2008.]

A document issued by the CDC in May 2005 sought to extend the pledge requirement to the large group of organizations that receive funding through the multilateral Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (to which the U.S. contributes). This was quickly overturned by US Director of Foreign Assistance Randall L. Tobias.

Rationale and reactions

In a February 2002 National Security Presidential Directive, President George W. Bush wrote: "The United States opposes prostitution and any related activities, including pimping, pandering, and/or maintainingbrothels as contributing to the phenomenonof trafficking in persons. These activities are inherently harmful and dehumanizing. The United States Government’s position is that these activities should not be regulated as a legitimate form of work for any human being." [NSPD-22, 25 February 2002. Quoted in [http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/part_2.pdf An Administration Priority] , US Department of Justice]

In February 2005, a group of non-profit organizations including CARE, the International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and the International Center for Research on Women protested the anti-prostitution pledge policy in a letter to US Director of Foreign Assistance Randall L. Tobias. This was followed by a May 2005 protest letter to President Bush, signed by hundreds of organizations worldwide, stating that the pledge "makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to establish the trust necessary to provide services to these hard-to-reach groups" and it will "exacerbate stigma and discrimination against already marginalized groups." [ [http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/20050518LTR.pdf Letter to President Bush] , 18 May 2005]

This was countered in August 2005 by a letter to the President supporting the policy, signed by over 100 groups, including the Christian Medical Association, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, National Association of Evangelicals, Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Sex Industry Survivors, The Medical Institute, The Salvation Army, World Hope International and World Relief. [ [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/28834.php Over 100 Groups Urge Bush to Enforce Anti-Prostitution Policy to Aid Sexually Exploited Women and Children] , "Medical News TODAY", 08 Aug 2005] Supporters of the pledge requirement argue that prostitution is inherently harmful and needs to be abolished, reject harm reduction approaches, [ [http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/595392355.html Christian Medical Association Lauds Anti-Prostitution Pledge Ruling] , "Christian News Wire", 28 February 2007] and hold that legalized prostitution increases demand for sex trafficking.

In May 2005, the Brazilian government turned down $40 million in anti-HIV/AIDS funding from the U.S. government because of the anti-prostitution pledge. Brazil's AIDS commissioner Pedro Chequer was quoted as saying "Sex workers are part of implementing our AIDS policy and deciding how to promote it. They are our partners. How could we ask prostitutes to take a position against themselves?" [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050530/kaplan Just Say Não] , "The Nation", 12 May 2005]

The anti-prostitution pledge has been criticized as counterproductive, because projects that work with and support prostitutes are often seen as instrumental in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Brazilian anti-AIDS program, which employs prostitutes to hand out information and free condoms, is considered by the United Nations to be the most successful in the developing world. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/01/AR2006030102316.html Where Prostitutes Also Fight AIDS] , "Washington Post", 2 March 2006] The Sonagachi Project is a prostitutes' cooperative in Calcutta, India, that supports sex workers rights and works to stop the spread of HIV; it has received strong positive evaluations from both UNAIDS and the World Bank, and has been cited by UNAIDS as a "best-practice" model of working with prostitutes. [http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/ProstitutionOathImplications.pdf Implications of U.S. Policy Restrictions for Programs Aimed at Commercial Sex Workers and Victims of Trafficking Worldwide] , Center for Health and Gender Equity, November 2005]

Ronald Weitzer has described the anti-prostitution pledge as a symptom of what he calls the "moral crusade" against sex trafficking, resulting in a broad attack against all forms of commercial sex acts. [Ronald Weitzer. [http://myweb.dal.ca/mgoodyea/Documents/Migration%20studies/The%20social%20construction%20of%20sex%20trafficking%20Weitzer%20Pol%20Soc%202007%20%2035(3)%20%20447-475.pdf The Social Construction of Sex Trafficking: Ideology and Institutionalization of a Moral Crusade] . "Politics & Society", Vol. 35, No. 3, 447-475 (2007)]

The language of the policy juxtaposes the words "prostitution" and "sex trafficking"; it has been pointed out that it is important to cleanly distinguish between these two concepts [Butcher K. Confusion between prostitution and sex trafficking. "Lancet" 361: 329–332 (2003).] and that all relevant organizations already strongly oppose sex trafficking.Cite journal
volume = 4
issue = 7
pages = e207 EP -
last = Masenior
first = Nicole Franck
coauthors = Chris Beyrer
title = The US Anti-Prostitution Pledge: First Amendment Challenges and Public Health Priorities
journal = PLoS Medicine
accessdate = 2008-09-03
date = 2007-07-01
url = http://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0040207]

Randall L. Tobias, the U.S. administration's foreign aid chief who was responsible for implementation of the anti-prostitution pledge, resigned in April 2007 over allegations that he had used an escort service. Some sex worker organizations and commentators called the situation "ironic" and Tobias "hypocritical". [ [http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/05/02/prostitution_pledge/index.html The Anti-Prostitution Pledge] , "Salon.com", 2 May 2007 ] [ [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/29/ex_aids_chief_in_escort_flap_called_hypocritical/ Ex-AIDS chief in escort flap called hypocritical] , "The Boston Globe", 29 April 2007]

Lawsuits

In response to the 2005 expansion of the policy to U.S. based organizations, two lawsuits were filed, alleging that the policy compels or prohibits speech in violation of the First Amendment, and also prohibits actions that are exclusively privately funded.

In the first case ("DKT v. USAID"), the non-profit DKT International prevailed in District Court but lost on appeal, at the US Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit. The February 2007 appeals court ruling was based on the assumption that the government would allow speech regarding prostitution as long as it is done through an affiliate that doesn't receive federal funding. [US Court of Appeals (2007 February 27) District of Columbia Circuit Decision in [http://brennancenter.org/dynamic/subpages/download_file_47995.pdf DKT v. USAID No. 05-CV-01604] . Retrieved 5 September 2008.]

The second case ("AOSI v. USAID") involves the plaintiffs Alliance for Open Society International, its affiliate the Open Society Institute, and Pathfinder International. In May 2006, a District Court in New York issued a preliminary injunction, preventing the government from requiring these organizations to sign the anti-prostitution pledge. The government appealed this injunction to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. During the oral arguments in the case, the government stated that it would allow legally and physically separate affiliates to engage in the prohibited speech. The government issued guidelines to this effect in July 2007. In November 2007, the Appeals Court let the preliminary injunction stand and returned the case for trial to the District Court, where it is currently pending. [ [http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/aosi_v_usaid "AOSI v. USAID" resources] , Brennan Center for Justice]

References

ee also

* Mexico City Policy, forbidding U.S. funding of organizations performing abortion services

External links

* [http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/ProstitutionOathImplications.pdf Implications of U.S. Policy Restrictions for Programs Aimed at Commercial Sex Workers and Victims of Trafficking Worldwide] , Center for Health and Gender Equity
* [http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/aosi_v_usaid "AOSI v. USAID" resources] , Brennan Center for Justice
* [http://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/memorandum%20of%20law%20of%20aids%20action%20and.pdf "Friends of the court" document in support of plaintiffs in "AOSI v. USAID"]
* [http://sexworkerspresent.blip.tv/file/181155/ Taking the Pledge] , video of sex worker and anti-HIV activists describing the effects of the funding restrictions. Network of Sex Work Projects