CONSIDER DECRIMINALISING SEX WORK - NERCHA

MATSAPHA – NERCHA has called for Members of Parliament (MPs) to consider decriminalising sex work in the country to create an enabling environment in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
NERCHA is the acronym for National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS.

The organisation, together with other partners, held a two-day workshop for members of the House of Assembly that commenced yesterday at Esibayeni Lodge.

The aim of the workshop was to orient MPs on the HIV/AIDS landscape in Eswatini, unpack the National HIV/AIDS Multi Sectoral Strategic Framework (2018-2023), and the Coordination Framework for the response, among other issues.
NERCHA Director Khanya Mabuza said it had been proven that in some countries, if sex work was regulated, sex prevalence declined and it was of importance that parliamentarians zoomed in on the sex work industry in the country because despite that it remained illegal, it was an open secret that the industry existed.

Clients

“Sex workers are abused and raped by their clients in the country and if regulated, they can be constantly tested for HIV and if found to be positive, they would be ruled out of the market. The regulation could also protect them from the clients who abuse them. That could be a very instrumental tool to employ in the fight against HIV,” he said.

United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Country Director Tim Rwabuhemba said although there were significant commitments and pledges to the response to HIV and AIDS and important progress has been made to increase the gains, there remain fundamental problems in fulfilling international commitments and implementing policies and programmes.

He said Parliament had a critical oversight role to play in order to ensure that the global and national targets were met, and national programmes and policies were in place to implement strategies to reduce new infections, AIDS related deaths and discrimination was eliminated.

He further said MPs had an important leadership role in the response to HIV and AIDS as evidence shows that the greatest achievements in preventing the spread of HIV and mitigating its impact had been found where political leadership had demonstrated strong political will and a firm commitment to prioritize, acknowledge and respond openly.
 “As elected officials, parliamentarians are leaders in society and have both the mandate and the public confidence to act in the interests of the community. Also, they have legitimacy and the duty to make critical decisions about policy issues and legislation that impact on the lives of citizens. For example, as they hold the purse strings of government and are mandated to review and approve the national budget, they are the key players in influencing what percentage of the overall budget is allocated to health care and specific programmes to fight HIV and AIDS,” he said.

Stigma

 Rwabuhemba added that as representatives of the people, parliamentarians also had a duty to speak out about HIV and AIDS and confront the stigma and taboos in a very public manner. He further asserted that they had a responsibility to address the necessities of their constituencies, and with regard to this strategy this means meeting the needs of people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Members of Parliament nodded to the views and suggestions of the organisations as they also had something positive to say on the matter.

Shiselweni II MP Strydom Mpanza said it rested upon the current parliamentarians to take the country to 2022 and realise the goal of ending the pandemic as per the vision of the King. He said the vision would be for nothing if they, as legislators, were overlooking the issue of sex workers in the country because it was a given that the sex work industry existed.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean legalising it but we can design strategies that would ensure that the sex workers are monitored and they go to hospital for check-ups because currently some of them don’t even bother to go there and that could sabotage all the efforts that the country was doing to fight the pandemic,” he said.

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