Doctor who promoted prostitution to teens appointed to top UN post

A doctor who advocated prostitution to teenagers has been appointed to a top position at the United Nations.

Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng wrote an article published in Teen Vogue in which she encouraged girls to regard prostitution as “real work”. She is now the new United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.

She claimed: “If you support women’s rights, I urge you to support the global demand for sex work decriminalisation”.

‘Myth’

In response to the news of her appointment, Strike Out Slavery co-founder Deidre Pujols said: “The idea that legalising or decriminalising commercial sex would reduce its harms is a persistent myth”.

“Countries that have legalised or decriminalised commercial sex often experience a surge in human trafficking, pimping, and other related crimes”, she explained.

Helen Taylor, Director of Intervention at Exodus Cry, added: “The United Nations ought to be the last place to advocate for human-traffickers and the buyers who fuel demand to be legalised.”

Countries that have legalised or decriminalised commercial sex often experience a surge in human trafficking

Also see:

Prostitution

Social media giants pressured over prostitution ads

Nurses support call for decriminalised prostitution

Leeds red light district ‘hasn’t worked’, says pioneer

‘Prostitution is violent and coercive and must be stopped’