Dear Editor,

Decriminalisation is the reduction or abolition of criminal penalties for an act although criminal penalties may be retained for related behaviour. A behaviour is usually decriminalised when society finds prosecution of the act to be pointless or unnecessary, or both, as happened with adultery. The UK recently decriminalised the possession of small amounts of marijuana as it was the considered opinion in that jurisdiction that marijuana possessed in small quantities was a matter of personal choice which the state had no business regulating. The British government was also influenced by the fact that with the increased security threats facing the state after 9/11, scarce police resources should be concentrated on tackling these challenges, rather than the largely innocuous act of possessing a joint. With Jamaica having just witnessed its bloodiest year on record, it is arguable that the same reasoning should apply to us.

In a related issue, the continued economic crisis facing the island makes the matter of decriminalisation germaine, also consensual adult sex work. Transactional sex is a fact of life in our society and persons (usually women) who have little else of value sometimes trade in sex to meet their financial needs and their families’. In a depressed economy with limited job prospects, it remains the responsibility of the government to ensure the well-being of its citizens. The continued criminalisation of sex work is inimical to achieving this objective for two reasons: first, the criminal sanctions are directly in contravention of the state’s international and constitutional obligations which guarantee the right to privacy and the right to work (implied from the right to property). Second, criminalisation drives practitioners of this oldest profession underground, out of the reach of vital health-care interventions which are aimed at stemming the spread of such chronic and life-threatening diseases as HIV/AIDS.

As it is, the only ones who stand to benefit from continued criminalisation of the possession of small quantities of marijuana and consensual adult sex work are those who harass and/or extort people engaged in these activities.

Maurice Tomlinson

maurice_tomlinson@yahoo.com