As Congress continues to move forward with PEPFAR reauthorization, there are a number of things that seem to have been unofficially declared "off the table." Perhaps foremost among these is the so-called "prostitution pledge." This pledge, which every PEPFAR prevention grantee is required to sign, is a declaration of the group's condemnation of prostitution. Even - or especially - groups working with women engaged in commercial sex work are required to sign the pledge as a condition of doing their work. I've spent the past week in Zambia, attempting to understand the implications of our country's HIV assistance policy for actual implementation here in one of the world's poorest countries. Last night, I spent the evening doing what every Washington ideologue who supports the "prostitution pledge" should be required to do-I walked through the main street area and hung out in the bars in a community called Kafue, just 50 kilometers outside of the Zambian capital of Lusaka.

Read the complete post at http://www.memeza.com/story.php?title=Prostitution_Pledge_or_Zambiarsquos_Women_and_Girls

---

Posted Tue, Apr 1 2008 15:52 by memeza / Zambian News