sex workers

HIV/AIDS

A report by Crago A-L published by Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network (SWAN) of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The research presented in this report was conducted from September to December 2007 by sex workers and outreach workers from 12 NGOs in 11 countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine). The data in this report reflects the responses from interviews conducted with 218 adult male, female and transgender sex workers in these 11 countries.

treatment as prevention

by Cheryl Overs The recent Lancet publication of the HPTN 052 study has shown unequivocally that initiation of 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.[1] The announcement in June is a welcome confirmation of what many already suspected – that ART is prevention. The word ‘game-changer’ was, not surprisingly, all over the internet within hours of the publication of the announcement of the closure of the trial. But so were questions about where this leaves the existing approaches to HIV

rights

A short film produced by the Healthy Options Projects Skopje (HOPS) who partnered with WITNESS as part of a campaign to end violence, marginalisation, and criminalisation of sex workers. This film is hosted on the Hub. In Macedonia, as throughout the world, sex workers are pushed to the margins of society by a combination of prejudice, discrimination, and violence. Yet, the fact that a person sells sexual services cannot be used as justification for the denial of their fundamental rights, to which all human beings are entitled.

respect

An annotated bibliography produced by Project Parivartan. The purpose of this literature search was to explore ethical concerns in researching sex workers, especially sex workers who were victims of crime, such as statutory rape and rape, trafficking and sexual slavery, and violence. (author’s summary)

sex; sexuality

In this exploratory pilot study, we want to empower sex workers in their sexual lives, identifying and promoting positive factors in the sexual response and in protective health behaviors, with clients and in their private intimate life. Our wish is to understand how pleasure is experienced and if it is experienced throughout the sexual response cycle. We interviewed seven sex workers (women, men and transgender) on sexuality issues and sex response.

declaration; human rights; trafficking; HIV

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.

Nigeria

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

Britain

This paper examines the position of prostitutes (and of ex-prostitutes and women seen to behave ‘like prostitutes’) in reported rape trials in Britain, Australia and Canada over the last 150 years. It suggests sex workers suffer a high incidence of sexual assault and asserts that until recently, it was almost impossible for sex workers to seek justice for these crimes. Charges of rape made by sex workers were often not taken seriously by the police and courts.

Russia

An article in Sexually Transmitted Infections. An article by Grassly NC, Lowndes CM, Rhodes T, Judd A, Renton A and Garnett GP in the International Journal of Drug Policy (2003) Volume 14, Issue 1, pp. 25-43. A report by Crago A-L published by the Open Society Institute. The publication highlights the creative ways in which sex workers in eight countries have organized to defend their human rights and health

academia

We formed our partnership in 2008. The idea for the Paulo Longo Research Initiative (PLRI) arose among activists, policy advocates and academics who were frustrated by the quality of information on sex work available. Although there are many excellent books, essays and studies about sex work – including several by sex workers – a great deal of scholarship on sex work is misguided and stigmatizing. Sex workers frequently complain that much of what is written about them reflects prejudices and myths rather than the reality of their lives.

Keyword search