A backlash against progress in gender and sexual rights is common.
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Articles on Decriminalisation
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Regulating the sex work industry is the only way to protect sex workers from abuse and violence.
Criminalising suicide directs resources towards punishment which has no significant deterrent effect.
A major review on sex work laws has just been handed to the Victorian government.
The UN warns sex workers face increased discrimination under COVID-19. In Australia, they have been an ‘afterthought’ in the country’s pandemic response.
At present South Africa is simply placing a potentially dangerous market into the hands of criminal syndicates and international traffickers.
Angola’s new President João Lourenço has shown some willingness to engage in more inclusive politics.
The legalisation of the private use of cannabis in South Africa is a victory for human rights. But, much more work needs to be done to make it practical.
The Constitutional Court judgment is to be applauded for doing away with the assumption that marijuana use by adults in private is always wrong.
The study shows the negative effects of sex work’s criminalisation, including a reluctance of workers to go to police and clients using it as an excuse to abuse workers.
If South Africa’s argument in court is that marijuana causes harm, it deserves to lose. The real question it should ask is whether criminal prohibition is the effective way forward.
Portugal won the war on drugs by giving up. What lessons can South Africa learn from their approach?
Most of our drugs policies have failed to curb use or reduce their impact on individuals or society. It’s time for a more enlightened and informed approach.
The UK may have signed the UN drugs convention – with its emphasis on prohibition – but that doesn’t mean it can’t legalise the drug.
Some of the greatest harms from using illicit drugs are because they are illegal.
Is the status quo really that bad? Our expert talks us through the arguments about the ‘oldest profession’.
Almost two years ago, The Conversation published an article, “Wiping the slate clean: historic convictions for gay sex must be expunged”. The article discussed the British government’s moves to remove…
We appear to be on the cusp of a major change in the laws surrounding the use and sale of cannabis. Several nations have now decriminalised usage, and the first steps toward full legalisation have taken…
We should all be concerned about our laws on illegal drugs because they affect all of us – people who use drugs; who have family members using drugs; health professionals seeing people for drug-related…
Top contributors
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Professor & Specialist in Drug Policy, UNSW Sydney
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Postdoctoral fellow, University of Cape Town
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Associate Professor, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland
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Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne), Curtin University
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
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Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Teesside University
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Research Associate, King's College London
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Assistant Professor in Criminology, University of Nottingham
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Reader in Crimimology and Social Policy, University of Birmingham
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Head of Urban Futures Centre, Durban University of Technology
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Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, Curtin University
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Mary Nel is a senior lecturer in Public Law, Stellenbosch University
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Director and Professor of International Human Rights Law, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
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Senior Research Officer, Curtin University
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Researcher, Curtin University
