sex workers

Centers for Change: Drop-In Centers Facilitate Sex Worker-Led Human Rights Advocacy

Drop-in centers are often the only places where sex workers can access health care, legal counseling, and other direct services. They also provide a safe space for sex workers to congregate, document abuses, and mobilize for advocacy. The role of drop-in centers is critical given the extreme and rampant violations of sex workers’ human rights in most places around the world. Common violations include physical and sexual violence, unsafe and unjust working conditions, extortion, and lack of access to justice, health care, social welfare, and other services. The Open Society Foundations interviewed staff from seven drop-in centers in six countries

Sex Workers Mobilising in Namibia, Reports and Resources

UN consultant Mathew Greenall shares resources about recent work with sex workers in Namibia, including a literature review. ‘In Namibia, as in many other countries, sex workers have limited opportunities to be heard when they want to talk about human rights, and as a result, the discussions are often constrained by the need to relate them to issues like HIV or trafficking. In this context it is heartening to see not only that news outlets in Namibia gave significant coverage to the events organised by local sex worker organisations (front page of The Namibian; articles in New Era and Republiklein), but

What is a representative sex worker?

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

Violence against sex workers is prevalent in Cambodia with customers and the police often the perpetrators

Passed to protect women, the 2008 law on human trafficking and sexual exploitation has been used by authorities to justify the harassment and abuse of sex workers. But, Cambodian sex workers say it’s now time to demand their rights.Hundreds are gathered in the capital of Phnom Penh.They are clapping loudly as the host welcomes the first day of 16 days of activism against gender violence.They are wearing white shirts with the slogan: “United we can end violence against women and bring the peace.” Theme: Human Rights and Law WNU Anti Violence Protest 2011.doc

Draft of new Global Declaration on the Rights of Sex Workers

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

HIV/AIDS, gender and sex work

This short fact sheet outlines the key issues and HIV risks associated with sex work in many parts of the world including: high rates of STIs and HIV; poverty; low educational level; limited access to healthcare services and prevention commodities; gender inequalities; social stigma and low social status; drug or substance use and; a lack of protective legislation and policies. It suggests that the following types of HIV programmes have been successful in meeting sex workers’ needs: • Interventions that take place in a variety of settings, including bars, clubs, brothels, the street, truck stops, and prisons; • Targeted interventions

Ain't I a Woman? A Global Dialogue between the Sex Workers’ Rights movement and the Stop Violence Against Women Movement

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 Through a process that was collaborative rather than confrontational, the dialogue explored the following issues: When and where does violence occur within adult

'Better pay 'drives' women to prostitution'

A news story in the Times of India by Anahita Mukherji which highlights our research on sex work’s position in the labour market in India. This story was published on Labour Day, or May Day, 2011. MUMBAI: Very rarely does a survey of prostitution take into account the economics of sex work, or view it in the context of the labour market. While a detailed study of the economics of commercial sex work in the US found its way into the 2009 bestseller Superfreakonomics, two economists from Pune University have studied the same angle in perhaps the first pan-India study

'70% sex workers opt for prostitution'

This news story was written by Aarefa Johari for the Hindustan Times on the 1 May 2011. The story is a write up of the launch of the ‘First pan-India survey of sex workers’, conducted by Pune University academicians Rohini Sahni and V Kalyan Shankar. Nearly 70% of female sex workers in the country have joined the profession voluntarily, and were not forced or sold. Also, prostitution is just one among several labour options available to women from poor backgrounds — a majority of them join the trade at a much older age compared to other informal markets such as

Sexual minorities: Identity number makes them unique target

There is very little information about the role of Identity Documents in how sex workers access health services and the protection of their human rights. This article from India addresses this important issue. An article on the DNA India website. What does gender have to do with unique identification numbers? That’s the question that sexual minorities are asking and they are pondering whether they should opt for Aadhaar. “Any marginalised community can be targeted. Each denomination can be segregated,” said lawyer BT Venkatesh speaking at a consultation on ‘UID and Transgenders: Potential and Concerns’, on Thursday. The community that is already discriminated

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