Sex Work Can’t Buy Human Rights - The ECtHR’s Intersectional Blindness in M.A. and Others v. France

Abstract

In a recent decision on the merits in M.A. and Others v. France, the ECtHR held that French legislation criminalizing the purchase of sexual acts did not violate the rights of 261 sex workers. The decision retreats into the Court’s traditional interpretative toolbox of European consensus and (procedural) margin of appreciation. I argue that the ECtHR decision does not only demonstrate blindness towards the rising sensitivity towards intersectional grounds of discrimination in human rights law but also contradicts recent proposals on “a human rights-based approach to sex work” promoted by several UN organs and the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights.

Keywords

• European Court of Human Rights
• Europäischer Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte | Straßburg
• France
• Human Rights
• Human Rights
• Prostitution