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have accepted that the most marginalized women and girls are overrepresented in
prostitution have been legitimizing violence against them and their exploitation by
normalizing the prostitution system as a means of livelihood and survival.
53.
Technology-facilitated prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation are
growing at such an alarming rate that the industry and law enforcement have been
unable to keep track of them. Technology-facilitated platforms are complicit in
facilitating exploitation from certain segments of the industry, like pornography and
sexual services.
54.
States must avoid becoming “pimp States” by abolishing laws that allow, tolerate
or condone the violence and exploitation in the prostitution system and pornography.
Moreover, States have a responsibility to protect and assist victims of prostitution in a
gender-sensitive manner, and to provide reparations. They must also address the
underlying causes of violence against women, such as those perpetuated by the
prostitution system, including by eliminating demand for prostitution by addressing
socioeconomic inequalities, discrimination and marginalization.
55.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that States:
(a)
Address prostitution through a rights-based approach and implement
legislation and standards that guarantee that women and girls have the right of access
to equality, freedom from violence, right to life, liberty, security, dignity, and freedom
from torture and inhuman and degrading treatment;
(b)
Strictly adopt legislation based on articles 1 and 2 of the Convention for
the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of
Others, article 6 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women and article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to fight against the
exploitation of prostitution of others and trafficking for the purpose of sexual
exploitation; and note that the criminalization of the exploitation of the prostitution of
another person is effective even with the consent of that person, thus validating the
irrelevance of the concept of consent in the context of prostitution;
(c)
Together with international institutions, address cross-border
cybertrafficking, allowing evidence-sharing across borders in any upcoming United
Nations digital compact or international treaties and address online sexual exploitation
explicitly; in the absence of an international treaty on cybercrime, adopt the Convention
on Cybercrime to address responsibilities in the area of cybercrimes, including the
prevention of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation;
(d)
Recognize prostitution with its connected variations, such as
pornography, as a system of exploitation and violence, in part by considering the full
spectrum of international human rights standards that apply in the context of
prostitution (e.g., prostitution as a crime of rape, a crime against humanity, torture,
slavery or femicide); States that consider prostitution a taboo issue must engage in its
recognition;
(e)
Adopt the abolitionist legal framework and its five pillars, including the
decriminalization of women in prostitution; providing comprehensive support and exit
pathways; criminalizing the purchase of sexual acts; criminalizing all forms of pimping;
and implementing sensitization campaigns for sexual act buyers;
(f)
Work to end demand for buying sexual acts by, inter alia:
(i)
Increasing obstacles to the purchase of sexual acts;
(ii)
Creating greater inconvenience for buyers through legislation, such
as including their names in a registry of sex offenders;
(iii)
Normalizing the illegality of purchasing sexual acts;
(iv)
Raising awareness in society at large about the negative
consequences of participating in the prostitution system;
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