Sudden deaths of sex workers
spark probe and policy review
~ Autopsy on sex worker a precautionary measure ~
ST. EUSTATIUS--The deaths of two Spanish-speaking sex workers within the span of one month has prompted Lt. Governor Hyden Gittens to instruct his Cabinet to conduct an urgent review of the island’s policy pertaining to the importation and employment of sex workers with a view to closing any loopholes that might exist.
Lt. Governor Gittens also announced last night that his cabinet had launched a “thorough investigation” into the sex industry on the eight-square-mile island to ensure that the relevant laws are being adhered to.
Meanwhile, the autopsy ordered on the body of sex worker Carmela Rodriguez Capellan (22) is being conducted as a precautionary measure and to rule out any foul play, Windward Islands Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein said Monday.
Capellan died suddenly on April 8, just 26 days after Estella Peralta (27), another sex worker at the same establishment, had also died suddenly. The emerging evidence about the deaths of the two nationals of the Dominican Republic suggests that they both had suffered from serious health problems.
The two deaths have shaken up the Statia community and have exposed what several persons contend are loopholes in the country’s Immigration policy.
In a press release last night Gittens said he “fully supports” an inquest and independent investigation into the sex workers’ deaths and had already instructed his cabinet that an inquiry should be conducted.
He said that shortly after information had been received about the second death, he had instructed his Cabinet to launch an inquiry into both cases and into the entire sex industry on the island. He also asked for a thorough review of the regulations and policies governing the sex industry on the island where there are two small brothels, both in Zeelandia.
“It is obvious that the regulations are poor in general throughout the Netherlands Antilles and therefore St. Eustatius will take the lead in identifying the weaknesses in the law in order to guard against these kinds of inhumane occurrences on our island and the other islands of the Netherlands Antilles,” Gittens was quoted as saying.
“This investigation will also review the tasks and roles of all government departments and other services involved, in order to tighten inspection and control of this industry,” he said.
Acting Lt. Governor Gerald Berkel had told The Daily Herald in a telephone interview earlier in the day that the policy review process was expected to start as early as this week. “At this point I can’t say exactly what happened, but the way certain things look, we will need to review all the existing policies,” he said.
One focus of the inquiry, Berkel noted, would be to determine whether all the procedures had been followed in the application and issuance of the employment permit for Capellan, who had been working at another brothel in Statia from May 2007 and had been sent back to the Dominican Republic by her employer when she fell ill. She returned to the island in early March to work at a different brothel, but died shortly afterward.
Another focus of the investigation will be to research how Capella had been granted a permit before the one-year timeframe of her last permit expiring, as is stipulated by law.
Progressive Labour Party (PLP) leader Clyde Van Putten said the fact that Capellan had been granted a new permit this year, while the law stipulated a waiting period of a year once the last permit had expired, raised questions about how this detail had escaped the scrutiny of the authorities.
He also said the Immigration policy needed to specify that sex workers provide proof that they were healthy and not suffering from any serious illness. Currently, sex workers are only required to provide proof that they do not have any sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV/AIDS or diseases such as tuberculosis, a blanket policy covering the Netherlands Antilles.
It does not specifically require the women to provide proof that they do not suffer from chronic or life-threatening illnesses.
Said Berkel: “This is definitely something that has to be looked into. The governor will initiate the investigation from his cabinet to verify that the policies are being implemented and make recommendations to close any possible loopholes that may exist.”
In the meantime, Stein said the autopsy on Capellan’s body would be performed to rule out the possibility of foul play. “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” he said. “Even if the death was not deemed suspicious, we thought it wise to have an in-depth look at what happened in the sense that it was a 22-year-old who died. We’re not certain that it’s a natural death and we’re not certain that a crime was committed, so we need to investigate it.” The autopsy is expected to be performed this week.
Stein said there had been no need for an autopsy in the first death, as it had been deemed to be of natural causes. (Judy H. Fitzpatrick)
