(CR!S) Prostitution is not the oldest profession, but the \u201coldest oppression,\u201d writes former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in a controversial editorial<\/a> for The Washington Post<\/i>. titled, “To curb prostitution, punish those who buy sex rather than those who sell it”.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n In the opinion article, the 39th president of the United States, and founder of the nonprofit Carter Center, <\/i>said he does not believe consensual work exists and strongly disagreed with assertions that prostitution can be an affirmation of female agency: \u201c[But] I cannot accept a policy prescription that codifies such a pernicious form of violence against women.\u201d He then suggested a change in policy \u201cconsistent with advancing human rights and societies,\u201d but certain critics are finding faults with his proposal.<\/p>\n Carter favors \u201cthe Nordic model\u201d and his 2014 book, \u201cA Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power<\/a>,\u201d when explaining why he disagrees with human rights organizations such as Amnesty International<\/a>, and UNAIDS<\/a> on the decriminalization of sex work.<\/p>\n The Nordic model, adopted in Sweden, Canada<\/a> and France<\/a>, decriminalizes the selling of sex, while pimping and buying of sex, remain illegal. \u201cNormalizing the act of buying sex also debases men by assuming that they are entitled to access women\u2019s bodies for sexual gratification,\u201d Carter writes. \u201cIf paying for sex is normalized, then every young boy will learn that women and girls are commodities to be bought and sold.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n