Public health policy must be based on sound evidence

doi:10.1136/bmj.39191.711794.3A

BMJ 2007;334:863-864 (28 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.39191.711794.3A

Letters

Stigmatising sex workers

Public health policy must be based on sound evidence

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Discussions around regulatory frameworks in commercial sex requirecareful useof terminology. A widely circulated report of theBMA's annual public health conference seems to be advocatingthe legalisation and regulation of sex work in order to submitprostitutes to regular testing.¹ ² This approach is not onlyunjustified, and an affront to human dignity and rights, butan inappropriate diversion of scarce NHS resources. Furthermore,it would be ineffective and dangerous.³ Coercion of sex workersmerely drives them further underground and alienates them fromthe services they need, leading to a breakdown in sexual healthpractices, and an increase in sexually transmitted infections.⁴

The major health problems among sex workers are related to stigmatisation,to which this report contributes further.¹ Inaccurate and inflammatorystatements such as these reported comments are likely to leadto increased levels of violence against them, as seen recentlyin Ipswich, and will even place outreach workers . . . [Full text of this article]

Michael D E Goodyear, assistant professor

Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 2Y9

mgoodyear@dal.ca