Sex work could be decriminalised in Mexico City after politicians voted to change a bill that says that those engaging in it can be fined or arrested if neighbours make a complaint.
The new law recognised that individuals had the right to engage in sex work, said Temistocles Villanueva, a local representative with the ruling centre-left Morena party. Prostitution in Mexico is legal under federal law β with each of the 31 states enacting its own prostitution laws and policies. The United Nations estimated in that there were , sex workers in the Central American country. Although sex work is allowed in much of the country, states have different and at times unclear rules, which leads to workers frequently operating in legal vacuums that expose them to exploitation and trafficking by crime gangs.
Mexico is a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour, with Mexican women and children the most at risk from sex trafficking, according to the US state department. Elvira Madrid, founder of sex work rights group Brigada Callejera, welcomed the change to the law but also called for a legal framework to ensure workers are protected.
Human rights groups and sex worker organisations in Mexico have long argued that criminalisation only sends the problem further underground β endangering an already vulnerable group to be subject to abuses by both organised crime groups and the police.
The new bill comes after an earlier version was criticised by sex worker and human rights groups. Eduardo Santillan, also a Morena Mexico City congressman, said now sex work was decriminalised, anti-trafficking public policy should be strengthened. The leading campaign group argues sex workers often have to choose between keeping safe and possible arrest, or avoiding a criminal record and putting themselves in danger. It is not illegal for individuals to buy or sell sex from each other in the UK, but soliciting and sex workers banding together as a group are illegal.
