Talk about illustrating a point: Just days after Amnesty International called for the decriminalization of sex work, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided the New York offices of Rentboy.com and arrested the CEO and six other employees.

While many Americans wanted to know why federal agents got involved in an online business self-described as “the world’s largest male escort site” (the answer has to do with “conspiring to violate the Travel Act by promoting prostitution”), Amnesty International brought into focus the larger issue of the human rights of sex workers.

“Laws criminalizing sexual exchange—whether by the seller or buyer—impede sex workers’ ability to negotiate condom use and other boundaries, and force many to work in…remote places where they are more vulnerable to violence,” wrote Lambda Legal in support of Amnesty International’s resolution. “Criminalization also seriously hampers efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS—efforts in which people involved in the sex trades are crucial partners.”