NLGRev 68-2[1].indd - National Lawyers Guild

86 national lawyers guild review
In its report for Cuba, the Committee acknowledged not only the increase
in prostitution but also the need to attack the root causes of prostitution and
provide rehabilitative programs for the women involved, citing programs
that promote economic independence in women as particularly effective. 174
The Committee again urged the State to assess the effectiveness of its preventative
measures and to align them with Article 6 of the Convention. 175
Legalizing prostitution does not attack these root causes, but feeds on the
women’s economic desperation.
Part III: Legalized prostitution violates key provisions of the UN
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW)
The CEDAW Committee has recognized explicitly, as required by Article
6, that prostitution exposes women to violence and exploitation. 176 As such,
women are exposed to increased violence, crime victimization, and health
risks, which are key targets of CEDAW’s goal to eliminate gender inequality.
There is a stark contrast between countries with legalized prostitution
and criminalized prostitution in terms of the promotion of gender rights. On
one hand, the abuse of women has become so entwined in Thailand that it
makes up 4.3 billion dollars per year. 177 The sale and abuse of women’s bodies
that contributes to the maintenance of the Thai government and society
for the benefit of men can be described as nothing but exploitation. The
World Trade Organization has suggested counting the proceeds in the gross
national product, suggesting that exploitation and abuse should be counted
as legitimate profit. The result of the situation in Thailand is indicated by the
CEDAW Committee’s Concluding Observations, namely the concern “[t]hat
traditional attitudes that foster discrimination against women and girls continue
to prevail and to hinder the full implementation of the Convention.” 178
Rather than tackling the serious problem of discrimination against women
in Thai society, the government compounds the problem by condoning the sale
of women as objects for the use of men, which infects the entire culture and
prevents the implementation of the CEDAW principles in the country. When
women are commodities, they need be treated no better than other marketed
products. Legalizing the sale of women only increases the problem, as the
Committee has found. 179 Legalization allows for sex services to be advertised
in daily newspapers, which significantly increases prostitution.
On the other hand, countries that criminalize prostitution have stronger
records of preventing violence against women and children. In the 2001 remarks
regarding Finland, the Committee pointed out not only that violence
against women is a very serious human rights problem, but also that the
government took it seriously and criminalized the buying of sexual services