Is banning prostitution denying someone their human rights? That is what sex workers are saying:
Activists hold a rally to demand a repeal of the anti-sex trade law in front of the Constitutional Court on Thursday. (Yonhap)
The debate on legalizing prostitution has heated up in South Korea as the Constitutional Court began reviewing the law that criminalizes the sex trade. The court held its first public hearing Thursday.
The antiprostitution law was enacted in 2004 to protect human rights, partly prompted by fire that killed 14 sex workers who were locked in a brothel in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in 2002.
The law stipulates that both purchasing and selling of sex carry a penalty of up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 3 million won ($2,747). It gives exemption to people forced into prostitution, leaving only voluntary sex workers ― many of whom oppose the law ― subject to the punishment.
A 41-year-old woman accused of selling sex for 130,000 won filed for a constitutional review of the law in 2012. The woman argued that punishing voluntary prostitution, especially when the sex worker has no other means of income, was a violation of fundamental human rights.
“Are we (sex workers) doing something that is worse than stealing? Is what we do worse than murder?” the woman said back in 2012.
Her request for a review was granted by the Seoul Northern District Court and eventually by the Constitutional Court.
Police crackdowns on brothels have also had damaging outcomes in recent years. Last year, a prostitute in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, jumped from a motel during a raid and died. A police officer had reportedly approached her while pretending to be a client.
Those who are against the antiprostitution law claim there is little evidence that punishing sex workers is effective in curbing the sex trade. According to government data, the number of female sex workers increased by 3.8 percent from 2010 to 2013, in spite of the law. [Korea Herald]
You can read the rest at the link, but I have to wonder if the foreigner in the picture knows that depending on his visa status he cannot participate in political activity in Korea?
