6 new frameworks have been published in 2011. Stand by for even more ‘definitions’ of decriminalisation and legalisation.
by Cheryl Overs
The recent Lancet publication of the HPTN 052 study has shown unequivocally that initiation of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) by people with HIV substantially protects their HIV-uninfected sexual partners from acquiring HIV infection, with a 96 percent reduction in risk of HIV transmission.[1]
The announcement in June is a welcome confirmation of what many already suspected – that ART is prevention. The word ‘game-changer’ was, not surprisingly, all over the internet within hours of the publication of the announcement of the closure of the trial. But so were questions about where this leaves the existing approaches to HIV prevention and promotion of sexual and reproductive health. Sex worker advocates immediately recognised that this new evidence could have a significant effect on both the actual conduct of commercial sex and on the programmes, public health policy and legal frameworks around it.
Article by Julia Medew in The Age, May 31, 2011.
Health Minister David Davis has backed down from a plan for Victorian sex workers to have fewer tests for sexually transmitted infections, prompting sharp criticism from public health experts who say the plan should go ahead.
Last week, a Department of Health project officer told a health and sex work conference the government had approved a move from monthly to three-monthly tests for sex workers in the regulated industry from September.
This is a resource written by Bishakha Datta and sponsored by CASAM and CREA. The report documents a meeting entitled “Ain’t I A Woman? A Global Dialogue between the Sex Workers Rights Movement and the Stop Violence against Women Movement” from 12-14 March 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The report features the presentations from many great speakers including , Ruth Morgan Thomas, Anna-Louise Crago, Kaythi Win, Hua Sittipham Boonyapisomparn, Swapna Gayen and Meenakshi Kamble,Cheryl Overs and Meena Seshu
An article in Feminist Review, No 48, Autumn 1994. The article is comprised of a conversation between Cheryl Overs and Nell Druce. It provides a fascinating insight into thinking on the links between sex work, feminism, HIV, same sex desire, the ethics of research and the role of the state in the abuse and protection of rights.
Part 2
Mobility
1. Global sex workers
2. The cost of moving
3. Migration and health
Making Sex Work Safer
1. Safe sex skills
2. Peer education
3.
Unfavourable laws, stigma, violence, and discrimination cause sex workers’ vulnerability to ill health, social exclusion and human rights violations. Sex workers face these to varying degrees in all cultures from Switzerland to Swaziland, Canada to Cambodia.
This guide, published by the International Network of Sex Work Projects, outlines their understanding of HIV and sex work and sets out their global agenda for change.
An HIV and AIDS Reporter from Eldis authored by Hawkins K and Overs C. This guide to recent research touches upon some potential new directions in policy and programming including new prevention technologies and economic empowerment programming.
In 2008 Cheryl Overs of PLRI supported Women’s Network for Unity and the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers to respond to the introduction of the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. This article describes events in Cambodia at that time, including the abuses that ocurred in the crackdown on the sex industry generated by the law.
