Melissa Ditmore » Articles

Individual Experiences of Trafficking Provide Crucial Information for Prevention

admin — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:00:02 +0000

Looking only at large-scale statistics causes us to miss details of individual experience that might help to address the root causes of trafficking.

To Address Human Trafficking, the United States Must Take a New Approach

admin — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 09:47:57 +0000

President Obama’s speech on trafficking in persons seems to reflect a real understanding of trafficking – but his proposals for addressing the issue fall back on the same problematic strategies and partnerships as his predecessors.

Creating Accountability and Protecting Human Rights in Anti-Trafficking Efforts

admin — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 00:00:02 +0000

Trafficking in persons is a serious human rights violation that affects workers all over the world. But the responses to human trafficking also involve very important human rights issues, calling for a response to trafficking in persons that is rooted in human rights and respects the dignity and self-determination of the person who is thought to be a victim.

U.S. HIV-AIDS Policy Sidelines Sex Workers

admin — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 18:21:44 +0000

Widespread vagueness about the U.S. funding guidelines and an anti-prostitution pledge has hurt sex workers, the people who could most benefit from U.S. foreign aid and who are best placed to turn the tide of the epidemic.

Its “Dark Ripple Effect”: Competing narratives of PEPFAR and sex work in Southern Africa

admin — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 00:00:46 +0000

Poster presentation at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C.

A Holistic Approach to HIV Prevention Programming for Female Sex Workers

admin — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:46 +0000

With recent epidemiology showing a continual rise in HIV rates among sex workers, now is the time to develop holistic, effective, and efficient programming.

Feminists Lose Ground Working With Social Conservatives On Trafficking

admin — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:00:57 +0000

Many people are surprised to learn that some contemporary feminists work with Right-wing Christians on the issue of trafficking in persons – actions that sell out the rights of other women, particularly those who freely work in the sex trade.

The Eliot Spitzer scandal’s true victims

admin — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 23:00:47 +0000

The New York attorney general was disgraced for hiring escorts, but never went to jail – unlike the sex workers he prosecuted.

Ontario Set to Decriminalize Sex Worker Activities

admin — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 23:00:31 +0000

On September 28th, 2010, in an unprecedented judicial move, an Ontario court struck down three provisions that criminalize activities related to prostitution. Prostitution itself is not illegal in Canada but ancillary activities like advertising and management are criminalized. Ontario Supreme Court Judge Susan Himel cited evidence that these laws contribute to a climate in which sex workers are unsafe because they are forced to operate in secrecy.

Sex workers deserve rights too

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:00:37 +0000

Since 2003, U.S. government funding to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been subject to an anti-prostitution clause forbidding the “promotion of prostitution” by grant recipients. There are few published articles about the effects of PEPFAR’s anti-prostitution policy requirement because discussing activities that are not clearly approved under the funding restrictions can jeopardize a program.