- Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Family Planning
- Women, Girls, and HIV
- Maternal Health
- U.S. Foreign Policy & Funding
- Watch: Making U.S. Foreign Assistance Work for Women and Girls in Ethiopia
- Female Condoms and U.S. Foreign Policy
- Family Planning Policy Restrictions and HIV
- U.S. Global Health Initiative
- Global Gag Rule
- Helms Amendment
- Foreign Assistance Budget
- Foreign Assistance Reform
- Kemp-Kasten Amendment
- Abstinence & Fidelity
- Anti-Prostitution Pledge
- Advocacy and Foreign Assistance
- Why Women and Girls?
Anti-Prostitution Pledge
U.S. policy requires all organizations that receive HIV/AIDS funding to explicitly oppose prostitution. Requiring organizations to adopt policies like an anti-prostitution pledge makes it extremely difficult to establish trust necessary to provide services to these hard-to-reach men and women in prostitution, further driving them underground and away from life-saving services for themselves as well as others. Moreover, increasing condom use among sex workers requires direct engagement, training, demonstrations of correct use, training on negotiating with clients, and collective action among sex workers, all of which could potentially be considered under the policy as “promoting prostitution.”
In the field, the policy has not resulted in a single documented positive result. To the contrary, advocates have documented numerous examples of the harmful effects of the pledge, which can endanger the lives of sex workers, their clients, and their families. While some organizations sign the pledge and continue with their work as before, others have ended or curtailed their work with sex workers to avoid potential problems.
Additional resources:
- Human Trafficking, HIV/AIDS, and the Sex Sector: Human Rights for All. Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) and the American University Washington College of Law, October 2010.
- Implications of U.S. Policy Restrictions for HIV Programs Aimed at Commercial Sex Workers. Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), August 2008.
Related News
- Promoting Human Rights versus Promoting Prostitution
May 24, 2013 - The New York Times: High Court Weighs Dispute Over AIDS Funding
April 22, 2013 - Huffington Post: The Right to Fight AIDS
April 22, 2013 - U.S. spends N450bn on Nigeria’s health sector programmes in 10 yrs – Envoy
April 18, 2013 - Alicia Keys campaigns for HIV education
April 16, 2013 - United States Announces $10 Million in Support for G-8 Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative
April 11, 2013 - Reuters: Prostitution policy splits NGOs in top court AIDS case
April 10, 2013 - Huffington Post: Why the Global Fund Is a Terrific Investment
April 8, 2013
Related Publications
- US Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally: What Does it Mean for SRH?
The 2012 United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally is the country’s first comprehensive, multi-sector approach to gender-based violence. What does it mean for sexual and reproductive health? - Fact Sheet: U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security
The United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAP) was issued by executive order by President Barack Obama in 2011. What does it say about sexual and reproductive health and rights? - U.S. Global HIV Policy: Combination Prevention
This paper outlines why the U.S. must support a true combination prevention strategy, one that scales up proven biomedical tools, integrates sexual and reproductive health services into HIV prevention, and addresses social barriers to HIV prevention. - Infographic: AIDS-free Generation? Not Without Women
We can't create an AIDS-free generation without women: Visualize the numbers. - GHI Implementation and Sexual and Reproductive Health in Guatemala: A Progress Report
A preliminary analysis of the U.S. Global Health Initiative in Guatemala finds that resource and policy constraints are a barrier to progress. - GHI Implementation and Sexual and Reproductive Health in Ethiopia: A Progress Report
A preliminary analysis of the implementation of the U.S. Global Health Initiative in Ethiopia finds that a focus on women and girls is already making a difference. - Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the U.S. Global Health Initiative
The U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI) is a comprehensive policy approach that seeks to strengthen and increase the efficiency of existing U.S. global health programs. - What Does Family Planning Have to do With HIV? Everything.
Voluntary family planning is an indispensible component of HIV prevention and treatment.
Related Links
- Americans for UNFPA
- Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA)
- Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR)
- ForeignAssistance.gov
- International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
- International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC)
- Ipas
- PEPFAR Watch
- Population Action International (PAI)
- Prevention Now!
- Reproductive Health Matters
Email This Page
Share This Page
