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Sex and the City: Are raids the answer?

A news story by Chokkapan S on Express Buzz, 23 May 2011. BANGALORE: Raids on prostitution rackets that are being run in the name of massage parlours and otherwise have time and again been in the news. So, the latest ones in the string of inspections and subsequent arrests in Bangalore didn’t really come as a surprise. What really is surprising is the fact that despite the repeated incidences, not much thought is being spared on the measures to curb the menace. So, what should ideally be done to tackle the issue? Decriminalising sex work is an important step in that

Words from the Regional Coordinator of ASWA

“We are here! We are here as brothers and sisters, moms and dads, sons and daughters some of us even grandparents, but WE ARE HERE!” These were the words I spoke at the opening of the 1st African sex workers conference in Johannesburg 3 years ago and now I say them again, “WE ARE HERE!” We are the African Sex Worker Alliance, from South African to Kenya to Nigeria, we are everywhere. Ready to be heard, seen and recognized. ASWA has been natured and mothered, she has crawled, and taken baby steps, fell along the way but now she is

Waiting for the Inevitable

Sex work in Macedonia, and elsewhere in the world, still represents an illegal and extremely stigmatized activity, which puts the dignity and human rights of sex workers under permanent threat. The unequal treatment in institutions and the access to services, prejudices, negative media image, and various other forms of violence are daily experienced by many women, men and transgender persons in the sexual industry. An example of systematic prejudice-caused violence happened on November 21st, 2008 in Skopje, when 23 sex workers, 8 clients, several passers-by and one NGO activist were detained in a police raid. Most of the arrested were

Colombia Court Recognises Sex Workers' Legal Status and Labour Rights

After reviewing the case of a woman who was fired from an establishment providing sexual services because she was pregnant, the court upheld the rights of sex workers to work, equality, security, and maternal leave. The establishment where she worked must now pay her 12 weeks of maternity leave. While there was no formal written contract, there was an informal “employment contract” which was broken off suddenly. However, the court did not demand that she be able to return to work, because while the work is legal, it is contrary to the liberal principles of the law. The ruling further

Tackling Child Commercial Sexual Exploitation

As the UN Advisory Group on Sex Work and HIV turns its attention toward young people and sex work Cheryl Overs reflects on what is known about child commercial sexual exploitation and how sex workers are organising to prevent it. “I was a prostitute before I was even a woman. I began when I was 10-years-old and I have experienced things you cannot imagine. I know I cannot erase my past, but I can help stop other children from going through the same experience,” said Damaris, who came together with four other sex workers, ages 18 to 49, to speak

Tackling Child Commercial Sexual Exploitation

Why Do Women in India Become Sex Workers?

A news story in the Asia Sentinal by Geeta Seshu, 25 May 2011. They can make more money and live better. Poverty and limited education push females into labor markets at an early age, but the sheer desire for a better income and a better life pushes them into sex work, according to a path-breaking, pan-India survey of sex workers. Only about 20 percent of the women surveyed were forced, sold, cheated or otherwise pushed into sex work according to the study, which was conducted in 2009 and only recently released. Nearly 80 percent of the 3,000 females surveyed in

Sex Workers Protest in Lagos

Obviously sailing with the wind of change rocking the globe, sex workers at the weekend gathered for a protest and massive rally in Lagos to force the government to legitimise their age long profession practiced in secrecy. The sex workers who marched through the streets of Ikoyi with fanfare, brandished placards and banners with inscriptions such as “Sex workers have right, African Sex Workers Alliance,” stormed the streets in their numbers demanding justice and recognition Speaking onbehalf of the sex workers, the Executive Director of Save Haven International in Nigeria and co-ordinator of The African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA), Margaret

Launch of Luttes XXX: inspirations du mouvement des travailleuses du sexe

A new anthology by Les éditions du Remue-ménage (http://www.editions-rm.ca/) on the sex workers rights movment will be launched in Montreal on November 10th 2011. Co-editied by Maria Nengeh Mensah, Claire Thiboutot and Louise Toupin, this book reproduces and presents the various forms of resistance that have inspired sex workers around the world to mobilize and demand social recognition. Luttes XXX includes 85 texts, a large number of which are available for the first time in French, and more than fifty illustrations. These are grouped into eight sites of resistance: “organizing”, “working”, “feminisms”, “telling our story”, “decriminalization”, “fighting against HIVAIDS”, “migration

Don’t talk to us about sewing machines: Talk to us about worker’s rights

Sex workers ran a number of exciting and challenging sessions during the AWID Forum in Istanbul. In their interactions with delegates they have been stressing the importance of listening to sex workers and acknowledging sex work as work. There has also been a plea for the silent majority of feminists who support sex workers rights to raise their voices to condemn interventions like anti-trafficking raid and rescues which are often carried out in the name of feminism. One well attended break out session that combined presentations with film clips was ‘Don’t talk to us about sewing machines: Talk to us

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