Sex Workers, Human Rights, and HIV Testing

A posting from the New York City Human Rights Initiative blog, written by Melissa Ditmore.

Police-initiated testing? Let’s return to the rights-based approach!

I’m sorry to be the bad fairy while most people feel good about our achievements on World AIDS Day. Sex workers in Mongolia and Macedonia have reported being forced to undergo HIV testing subsequent to being arrested. Sex workers are rightly indignant: forced testing is a human rights violation and has been condemned by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS.