Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey is not backing down from his stance that sex workers need protection and that he intended to push for them to get it.Over the weekend, as he lamented last Friday’s murder of one of his constituents, 44-year-old Guyanese sex worker Caroline Baird in Bush Hill, the St Michael South MP said measures would be put in place to protect women in the sex industry.In Parliament on Tuesday, he doubled down on his position, making no apologies for his views.Saying that he was appalled and saddened at how women were generally treated in Barbados, especially those who engage in prostitution, Humphrey contended that sex workers were simply doing what they needed to do to feed their families and should be protected while doing so.“I am appalled that women are telling me when they go on the streets for whatever reason that men feel they have a right to come to take away their money and take away their dignity. That is wrong, and we have to be able to protect all women regardless of the business they are in, regardless of the jobs they pursue, or if it is that they are just taking a stroll,” he said.“Nobody can tell me any different. That is how I feel. I feel strongly about it and I also now have the legitimacy of saying I am the Minister responsible for gender and for women’s affairs, and these things are things to me that matter.“So, yes, I feel that we must do something to keep the people on Bush Hill safe,” he added.
