Originally posted by Jangle
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Call For Order - Negril Stakeholders Want Prostitution Regularised
Published:Wednesday | March 30, 2016 | 12:00 AMOkoye Henry
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Paul Clarke
Christine Cohen
Western Bureau:
While stopping short of calling for the establishment of a red-light district in the resort town, some business stakeholders in Negril, Westmoreland, want to see prostitution decriminalised and regulated in order to create safer conditions for sex workers and their clients.
Participating in a recent Gleaner forum on job creation, investment and growth in Negril, the stakeholders admitted that despite being illegal, male and female prostitution has always been part of the fabric of the town, albeit a big contributor to social disorder.
"Prostitutes and rent-a-dreads are quite numerous here in Negril," said Christine Cohen, owner of the Spa Retreat Boutique Hotel.
"Rent-a-dreads have a big underground business. There are already websites where you can rent a dread. You can already have everything set up before you even hit the airport. Within 60 minutes, your arrangement is made."
It is for that reason why Cohen and other stakeholders, including Lee Issa, the president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce (NCC), believed it would best serve the town by having the industry legalised, so it could be regulated to address safety concerns.
"I think you can have some sort of coexistence, but it would have to be confined, controlled and managed, because we are not going to get rid of it," said Issa, who is chairman of Couples Resorts. "If regularised, it would in some way allow for the girls to be checked health-wise."
However, as things are from a health perspective, Negril is far from ready to offer the type of health care that a regulated sex trade would require.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/l...on-regularised
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