To the Editor:

In “Rights Group Weighs New Stance on Prostitution” (news article, Aug. 2), Jessica Neuwirth, the founder of Equality Now, is quoted as saying, “It really undermines the whole concept of human rights to call it the rights of men to buy other human beings for sex.”

This is not what Amnesty International is proposing and skews a carefully researched policy that is being put forward for discussion.

Amnesty International is not considering a policy on the right to buy sex. We are consulting on a policy for the protection of sex workers, who are subject to discrimination, violence and abuse around the world.

The draft policy draws upon extensive evidence, including testimony from sex workers and research from agencies like Unaids, the United Nations AIDS-fighting agency, and the World Health Organization, and positions from U.N. Women and other human rights groups.