Prostitution should be made legal in Armenia – human rights activist

Armenia needs to legalize prostitution to regulate the sex industry and secure benefits for its economy by imposing taxes and duties on the corresponding institutions, says Artur Sakunts, the president of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly’s Vanadzor Office.

Speaking to Tert.am, Sakunts noted that sex workers, who are not held criminally liable in Armenia, are under permanent control by law enforcement bodies, as well as criminal groups.

“Paid sex services should not be considered a punishable act; they should not be prosecuted not to be ever manageable at the hands of organized criminal groups which could make [sex workers] victims of internal trafficking,” he said, citing other countries practice of treating sex services as a kind of business activity.