What´s women trafficking got to do with it? Uses and abuses of the prophylaxis of venereal diseases law

VARELA, CECILIA INÉS; DAICH, DEBORAH

CABA

Congreso; IX IASSCS; 2013

IIGG-UBA // IASSCS

In 1936 Argentina passed the ?Prophylaxis of venereal diseases law?, with the aim of protecting public health, liberty and human dignity. With a hygienist spirit, the law aimed to organize the prophylaxis of venereal diseases and its medical treatment nationwide. Therefore, related to the control of venereal diseases but also with a discourse that highlighted the need of human dignification and eradication of ?sexual slavery?, the law prohibited the establishment of places of business where prostitution was exercised or incited, and punished the administration of these places. Since then, Argentina adopted an abolitionist position. Therefore, on the one hand, autonomous prostitution is not considered a crime nor is it conferred any legal status. On the other hand, those who profit from sexual exploitation of others are punished. In the latter case, our country has specific articles in the penal code that punish pimping. So, if the prophylaxis of venereal diseases law has been used locally as a legal tool against sexual exploitation of others and the control of venereal diseases, today is recreated and reinvented as a tool against women trafficking. In the global context of anti-human trafficking campaigns and transnational migrations, the anti-trafficking discourse has become a privileged language to canalize a range of social anxieties and a powerful discourse that has permeated governmental agencies, generating a new set of public policies. In this way, through the recent recommendations of the General Prosecutor Office, the ?Prophylaxis of venereal diseases law? has been used as a pretext to investigate and raid brothels and private apartments in search of trafficked women, where sex workers have reported violations of human rights. Thus, it seems that the new regulations to combat human trafficking tend to violate the rights of women who offer commercial sex. In this paper, we propose to focus in these issues through the analysis of fieldwork experiences and judicial cases.