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Court-based research: collaborating with the justice system to enhance STI services for vulnerable women in the US http://t.co/3vEaFQVO
The fractal queerness of non-heteronormative migrant #sexworkers in the UK by Nick Mae http://t.co/X7oGFeDI
‘only 31% of the sample of indirect sex workers reported having been engaged in commercial sex in the last 12 months’
Old but good. Violence and Exposure to HIV among #sexworkers in Phnom Penh http://t.co/rkrRGiBa
Someone is Wrong on the Internet: #sex workers’ access to accurate information http://t.co/aMSXhygd
 

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Poll reveals details of Bogota's prostitution business

A news story by Daniel Brody in the Columbia Reports. The story outlines the findings of an opinion survey of sex workers and their clients in Bogota which was taken by the Mayor’s Office. There is no link to the original source so we cannot comment on the accuracy of the reporting or the methods used. Poll reveals details of Bogota’s prostitution business Daniel Brody A new opinion survey of sex workers and their clients in Bogota has been taken by the Mayor’s Office, providing a fascinating window into the lives of those who toil in and patronize the city’s

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Issues Concerning the Informality and Outdoor Sex Work

The objective of this article was to discuss a series of issues pertaining to outdoor sex work practiced by low-income travestis in São Paulo, Brazil. Qualitative methods conducted among this segment of the population revealed sex work as almost inseparable from the existence of travestis as a social group. Among them, the outdoor modality was the most prominent and social stigma was a predisposing factor for their entrance (and permanence) in sex work. The results showed that some of the difficulties they faced regarding work must be understood as a consequence of them being self-employed, informal workers occupying public spaces,

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Anna Forbes: From Microbicides to Sex Workers—A Logical Development

An article by Lauren Tuck which originally appeared in Poz Magazine Anna Forbes: From Microbicides to Sex Workers—A Logical Development “Anna Forbes found her calling in 1992 when development of microbicides—usually in the form of topical gels or creams that block sexual transmission of HIV—began attracting notice. Since then she has become widely known for championing microbicides, which might offer women protection without a condom. For 10 years she represented the Global Campaign for Microbicides, working on behalf of disenfranchised women. Now she has moved onto consulting in order to discover new ways to fight HIV—and to broaden her horizons.

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Migration & Mobility in the Context of HIV and Sex Work

This is a discussion paper prepared for the 1st Asia and the Pacific Regional Consultation on HIV and Sex Work, 12 – 15 October 2010 in Pattaya, Thailand. Among its recommendations are :  1. Cross border and regional agreements should be developed that protect the rights of sex workers to access health and social services, irrespective of their legal status (as both sex workers and as migrants).  2. Sex workers should be included in meaningful partnerships in relevant infrastructure development projects. Major development projects should include “sex worker impact studies” to obtain information when planning for associated infrastructure needs in target

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What makes a structural intervention? Reducing vulnerability to HIV in community settings, with particular reference to sex work

Increasing emphasis is being placed on the need for ‘structural interventions’ (SIs) in HIV prevention internationally. There is great variation in how the concept of SI is defined and operationalised, however, and this has potentially problematic implications for their likely success. In this paper, we clarify and elucidate what constitutes a SI with particular reference to the structured distribution of power and to the role of communities. We summarise the background to the growing emphasis being placed on the concept of SIs in HIV prevention policy, and present ethnographic case-study material from a sex worker’s HIV project in Kolkata, India,

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The Role of Housing in Determining HIV Risk among Female Sex Workers in Andhra Pradesh, India: Considering Women's Life Contexts

Recent research on HIV prevention, regardless of the population, has increasingly recognized the relevance of contextual factors in determining HIV risk. Investigating such factors among female sex workers (FSW) is especially relevant in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where HIV rates are among the highest across Indian states and where HIV has largely affected FSW. Stable housing is a particular contextual challenge experienced by female sex workers in this region (as well as elsewhere); however, local studies have not examined the impact of this issue on HIV risk. In this paper, we examine residential instability, defined as a

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Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) – Including Condom Programming

This discussion paper was developed for the  for the 1st Asia and the Pacific Regional Consultation on HIV and Sex Work, 12 – 15 October 2010. Among its recommendations are 1. A human rights based approach should be applied to any HIV program targeting sex workers and their clients. The illegality of sex work in most counties in the region creates an environment that facilitates harassment and hinders the delivery of prevention and care. Programs must build the capacity of sex workers to engage in advocacy with policy makers to ensure protection of their fundamental rights to safe work, fair

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HIV and Law in China

The Chinese government uses the traditional strategy of implementing strict laws regarding sex work with the intention of preventing risk behaviours. Sex workers are subject to administrative penalties, including official warnings, writing self‐criticisms, administrative fines, short‐term detention or longer‐term incarceration   Article 358 of the People’s Republic of China’s Criminal Law stipulates that a person found guilty of forcing a woman into sex work can be sentenced to imprisonment for 5‐10 years. The maximum punishment was subsequently raised to death by the 1991 Decision on Forbidding Prostitution. Article 359 of the Criminal Law states that a person who profits, invites

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Case history, transgender migrant sex worker, Kyrgyz Republic

A case study presented by Gulnara Kurmanova at the 24th Program Coordinating Board (UNAIDS) Meeting, Thematic Segment People on the Move, June 2009. Venera, a 31-year-old transgender woman who is a sex worker. Five years ago she came to Bishkek from a small village in the north of the country. Her mother died giving birth to her younger sister. She lost her father because of tuberculosis when she was still a kid. She had changed schools and been placed in an orphanage in the village near the bigger town of Talass. Venera didn’t receive her secondary school diploma; like many

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“Over here, it's just drugs, women and all the madness”: The HIV risk environment of clients of female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico

HIV vulnerability depends upon social context. Based in broader debates in social epidemiology, political economy, and sociology of health, Rhodes’ (2002) “risk environment” framework provides one heuristic for understanding how contextual features influence HIV risk, through different types of environmental factors (social, economic, policy, and physical) which interact at different levels of influence (micro, macro). Few data are available on the “risk environment” of male clients of female sex workers (FSWs); such men represent a potential “bridge” for transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections from high- to low-prevalence populations. Using in-depth interviews (n=30), we describe the HIV risk

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