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The Swedish Sex Purchase Act: Claimed Success and Documented Effects

This is a very good article that presents a strong case that the criminalisation of clients in Sweden has not been successful in any terms. It contains fascinating statistics about the extent of trafficking in Sweden and illustrates the lack of integrity and rigour of claims that support ‘the Swedish Model’. It also provides a compelling case for looking closely at the true consequences of measures aimed at limiting sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. “Sweden’s criminalization of the purchase of sexual services in 1999 is said to be a unique measure: to only punish those who buy sexual services, not those

A Psychosocial Study of Male-to-Female Transgendered and Male Hustler Sex Workers in São Paulo, Brazil

This study examined sociodemographic variables, personality characteristics, and alcohol and drug misuse among male sex workers in the city of Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 45 male-to-female transgender sex workers and 41 male hustlers were evaluated in face-to-face interviews at their place of work from 2008 to 2010. A “snowball” sampling procedure was used to access this hard-to-reach population. Male-to-female transgender sex workers reported fewer conventional job opportunities, fewer school problems, and higher harm avoidance and depression levels than male hustlers. Also, transgender sex workers reported earning more money through sex work and more frequently living in

Treatment as Prevention: How might the game change for sex workers?

“What drives continued expansion of the pandemic is not the absence of effective preventative technologies but discrimination, exploitation and repression of certain social groups,” Dr Peter Piot. This article looks at the potential impact of partially effective, non contraceptive HIV prevention methods on sex workers in the light of recent news that 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. Impact of Treatment for Prevention_0.doc

Measuring perceived stigma in female sex workers in Chennai, India

Although sex work is highly stigmatized throughout the world, a limited body of research has examined stigma among female sex workers (FSWs). We developed a Sex Worker Stigma (SWS) Index to measure perceived stigma among 150 FSWs in Chennai, India. These women were at a median age of 35 years and reported, on average, having engaged in sex work for nine out of the previous 12 months. The two-factor structure of the index was verified in both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with acceptable goodness of fit. The final 10-item index comprises of two domains of perceived stigma from the

Stop Harassing Us! Tackle Real Crime!, A Report on Human Rights Violations by Police Against Sex Workers in South Africa

The findings in this report highlight the gap between the rights enshrined in the South African Constitution and treatment meted out to sex workers. Even under the present, imperfect law, there is a stark contradiction between the actions of police and the due process laid out by the law for them to follow. Based on the complaints of 308 sex workers, the WLC found the following: • Almost one in six of the sex workers who approached the WLC had been sexually or physically assaulted, and one in three had been harassed, by the police; • Of the 45 percent

“I expect to be abused and I have fear”: Sex workers’ experiences of human rights violations and barriers to accessing healthcare in four African countries

This report documents human rights violations experienced by female, male and transgender sex workers in four African countries (Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Zimbabwe), and describes barriers they face to accessing health services. Through cross-country comparison and documenting sub-regional trends, the study moves beyond previous often-localised descriptions of violations against sex workers in Africa. The study also fills information gaps about violations in male and transgender sex workers in this setting. A desk review of literature and policies pertaining to sex work in the study settings preceded individual in-depth interviews (n=55) and 12 focus group discussions (n=81) with sex workers

Cellphones useful in research targeting Peru’s sex workers

Sex workers, a stigmatized population, are also at risk for a host of sexually transmitted infections. As the marginalized women are typically reluctant to visit health clinics, mobile data collection devices are particularly useful to researchers and health workers dealing with this population.In Peru, outreach teams preventively treat the sex workers for infections with the medication metronidazole, in addition to screening them for chlamydia and other conditions. Metronidazole, however, causes headaches, nausea and abdominal pain in some patients. Since these side effects needed to be carefully monitored, the outreach teams had to track down sex workers in streets, bars, discotheques

Will 5-year-plan accommodate sex workers?

This article in the Daily News Analysis on Bangalore explains how sex workers do not get pensions, have no identity or ration cards and have to struggle for housing. Access to health services is also a problem “The first line of treatment is available but the second line is not so. Only a few are able to access this,” said Geetha, secretary of Karnataka Sex Workers’ Union, working in rural Bangalore. BANGALORE:Sex workers do not get pension, have no identity cards, ration cards, and have to struggle for housing. People living with HIV are no better off. Sexual minorities too are fighting for basic

Prostitution Policy Models and Feminist Knowledge Politics in New Zealand and Sweden

This article analyses expert discourse on prostitution in New Zealand and Sweden using governmentality theory. The article shows that in both cases, experts adopted research methodologies based in criticism of past research as supporting heterosexual male hegemony. New Zealand experts emphasized giving voice to prostitutes as a marginalized, predominately female population and producing research that benefited them. Swedish experts argued that research should focus upon global sex markets and hegemonic masculinities, successfully advocating criminalizing clients and pimps, but not prostitutes. The article argues that both policies exemplify contrasting advanced liberal governmental techniques. In New Zealand, the critical methodology of attention

HIV Treatment reduces transmission by 96%

The news that people living wtih HIV who are on antiretoviral therapy will have a huge effect on HIV programming for sex workers. It suggests that ARV therapy rather than condom promotion may account for the huge reduction in HIV transmissions during commercial sex over recent years. It also raises the question of whether voluntary testing should be replaced by routine testing. What it definitely raises is the importance of free access to ARVs, nutrition and adherence support for all. Thursday, 12 May 2011, 11 am EST By Matthew Kavanagh Washington, DC – Men and women infected with HIV reduced the risk of transmitting the

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