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The following is a draft declaration on sex workers rights and introductory article. Thank you very much to those who made inputs. The process used to develop this was to copy the ICRSE declaration format and cut and paste material from all documents together into the sections then edit them down to about 20% of the length. This means that the document attached comprises sentences and bits of sentences from various documents by sex workers and allies.
A new sex workers initiative in Botswana has included a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning (LGBTIQ) component in their programme. Sisonke Botswana, a sex work group currently housed by Botswana Network on Ethics Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA), joined the African Sex Workers Alliance and dedicated a week to the mapping of sex workers rights in Botswana with the aim to forming a coalition which will advance the human health rights of most key population (sex workers, transgender, MSM and drug users).
In their work and lives, sex workers experience disproportionate levels of violence including police abuse, sexual assault, rape, harassment, extortion, and abuse from clients, agents (pimps), sex establishment owners, intimate partners, local residents, and public authorities. Violence against sex workers is a violation of their human rights, and increases sex workers’ vulnerability to HIV. Violence against sex workers must be understood beyond the individual incidents and in a wider context of gender and stigma. (extract from paper) The sex workers rights movement argues that laws that criminalise A news story by Chokkapan S on Express Buzz, 23 May 2011. BANGALORE: Raids on
This article, in Exchange on HIV/AIDS, Sexuality and Gender, focuses on the relationship between HIV and sex workers’ rights. It outlines the elements of a rights-based approach to sex work and includes information on how the criminalisation of sex work and stigma and discrimination increase vulnerability. It suggests that the key elements of a rights based approach are that it:
An article in the Journal of Law and Society, Volume 37, Number 1, March 2010. Weitzer explores the growth of what he describes as a moral crusade in the US aimed at expanding the criminalisation of sex work. He shows how there is a growing trend to conflate sex work with human trafficking and explores the impact of this movement on legal norms and government policies. Weitzer believes this trend has been prompted by the expansion of the sex industry and its normalisation in American society. 6 new frameworks have been published in 2011. Stand by for even more ‘definitions’ of decriminalisation
On the 26-27 June 2011 the Global Commission on HIV and the Law will hold a consultation on the Latin America region. The Commission is working to improve HIV responses by addressing key legal barriers and promoting enabling legal environments. You can read more about the commission on their website. What do they want? They are looking for inputs from civil society groups and individuals, including those working on sex workers rights. They want to hear from those people who are most affected by both disempowering and empowering laws and practices. By speaking out now, you can help to shape the Commission’s thinking and recommendations, and influence the
There is growing interest in the ways in which legal and human rights issues related to sex work affect sex workers’ vulnerability to HIV and abuses including human trafficking and sexual exploitation. International agencies, such as UNAIDS, have called for decriminalisation of sex work because the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services is affected by criminalisation and social exclusion as experienced by sex workers. The paper reflects on the connections in various actors’ framings between sex workers sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and the ways that international law is interpreted in policing and regulatory practices. Methods The
The claim that the sex workers’ rights movement is a purely white, western phenomenon is one of abolitionism’s biggest falsehoods. In fact, Global South sex workers could teach their Northern counterparts a thing or two when it comes to organising for sex workers’ rights. Here is a videoclip of sex workers in Sonagachi, Calcutta, marching against criminalisation of their industry. Here is a photo of members of the Asia-Pacific Network of Sex Workers holding a banner with their slogan, “Don’t talk to me about sewing machines. Talk to me about workers’ rights” (a reference to their annoyance at “rescuers” whose
The following is a draft declaration on sex workers rights and introductory article. Thank you very much to those who made inputs. The process used to develop this was to copy the ICRSE declaration format and cut and paste material from all documents together into the sections then edit them down to about 20% of the length. This means that the document attached comprises sentences and bits of sentences from various documents by sex workers and allies. Sex workers organisations are asked to make suggestions to [email protected] about a) things that should be said differently b) areas where the document
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