Barbadian academic and prominent social scientist in Canada, Professor Myrna Lashley, wants her birthplace to legalise prostitution, saying sex workers “need to be protected just like everyone else”.
Lashley, associate psychology professor of McGill University in Montreal, made the call in the wake of the killing of 44-year-old Caroline Baird, a sex worker who was fatally shot a week ago on Bush Hill, St Michael, near the Garrison Savannah’s Grand Stand.
“A clear case can be made for the legalisation of prostitution in Barbados,” said the academic, who at different times was retained by federal, provincial and city institutions in Canada to examine race relations, human rights and other social issues there. “A case can be made big time.”
Lashley, who has lived most of her life in the North American country, described the death of the mother of four children as a “human tragedy.” Law enforcement officials believe she was killed during a confrontation with an abusive client. (TB)
