Cops Arrest Sex Workers for Carrying Condoms

July 19, 2012 from Human Rights Watch

A new report by Human Rights Watch says that police in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and San Francisco are confiscating condoms from sex workers and transgender women and threatening to use them as evidence for prostitution charges in court. Human Rights Watch asserts that this kind of treatment of transgender people and sex workers by US police officers is undermining health department campaigns to reduce HIV.

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Sex worker

A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is used in reference to all those in all areas of the sex industry including those who provide direct sexual services as well as the staff of such industries. Some sex workers are paid to engage in sexually expli... Explore this topic

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force. In the United States, "officer" is the formal name of the lowest police rank. In many other countries, "officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank, and the lowest rank is often "constable". In many ot... Explore this topic

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris,... Explore this topic

Transgender

Transgender sexuality is the sexuality of transgender people. Transgender people exhibit the full range of possible sexual orientations and interests, including the potential for a lack of sexual attraction. Explore this topic

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. New York is the 27th-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 7th-most densely populated of the 50 United States. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Ma... Explore this topic

HIV

Le virus de l'immunodéficience humaine est un rétrovirus infectant l'Homme et responsable du syndrome d'immunodéficience acquise, qui est un état affaibli du système immunitaire le rendant vulnérable à de multiples infections opportunistes. Transmis par plusieurs fluides corpo... Explore this topic

Los Angeles

Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles, often known by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City, with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621.... Explore this topic

San Francisco

San Francisco är en stad i norra Kalifornien i USA. Staden ligger på änden av en halvö mellan Stilla havet och San Franciscobukten. San Francisco är den näst mest tätbefolkade staden i USA. I storstadsområdet bor cirka 3,4 miljoner människor. Namnet kommer från en fransk missi... Explore this topic

Condom

A condom is a barrier device commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases. It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner. Condoms ... Explore this topic

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on t... Explore this topic

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