Asia and the Pacific

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Pacific Rainbow$ Advocacy Network

Location

Lautoka City
Fiji
Contact email: 
pacific.rainbows@gmail.com
How are sex workers involved in your organisation?: 
Sex workers hold the majority seats within the board and the management collective and all programs are implemented and led by sex workers.

Myanmar National Network of Sex Workers (A Mah)

Location

Yangon
Myanmar
Contact email: 
empoweringmnnsw@gmail.com
How are sex workers involved in your organisation?: 
We work closely with TOP and a few other sex workers based organizations. TOP has 18 Drop in Centers and our network's sex workers meet in the drop in Center on a regular basis. Also once a year we have an annual meeting by involving 150 - 200 forum leaders.

ASHODAYA SAMITHI

Location

Mysore
India
Contact email: 
ashodayasamithi@yahoo.co.in
How are sex workers involved in your organisation?: 
Being a sex workers' organization there is a constant community engagement and involvement in all activities undetrtaken by us. There is a high sense of ownership dispalyed by the community with constant participation towards community advancement. Decisions are taken through a democratic consultative process. In all Ashodaya is for, of and by the community of sex workers.

$carlet Timor Collective

Location

Dili, Timor Leste
Contact email: 
scarlet.timor@gmail.com
How are sex workers involved in your organisation?: 
$carlet Timor Collective has 100% sex worker only membership with no affiliate organisation membership offered. The control of all organisation decisions remain within a sex worker lead collective structure.$carlet Timor Collective has elected delegates representing at national and international levels to advocate for civil, working and human rights for all sex workers. Members include women, men, transgender, migrant and PLHIV. Sex Workers are actively involved at all levels of the collective.

New UN report on Sex Work and the Law in Asia and the Pacific

Submitted by NSWP on 24th October 2012
  • Criminalisation of sex work increases vulnerability to HIV by fuelling stigma and discrimination, limits access to sexual health services and condoms.
  • Removing legal penalties for sex work allows HIV prevention and treatment programmes to reach sex workers and their clients more effectively.
  • There is no evidence that decriminalisation has increased sex work. 

These are some of the findings in an unprecedented study issued today by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Community Legal Service

Location

Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact email: 
nayhengwnu@gmail.com
How are sex workers involved in your organisation?: 
Recruited and appointed by WNU's sex worker organization in Cambodia

Friends Frangipani

Location

Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea
Contact email: 
512friendsfrangipani@gmail.com
How are sex workers involved in your organisation?: 
All Friends Frangipani Members, Staffs, and Executive representative are past and present sex workers. Friends Frangipani as Sub Committees in eight places and has an elected Executive Committee providing gorvernance and leadership. Our 9 executive Reps hold monthly meetimg to address their local members and discuss the issues affecting them. These issues are then brought back to the Executive Committees attention.

Supreme Court in India backs inclusion of DMSC and USHA

Submitted by NSWP on 23rd August 2012

India's Supreme Court (Apex Court) backed a decided not to exclude West Bengal-based NGO Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) and Usha Cooperative from a committee of senior lawyers, NGOs and Government officials, which is constituted in July last year, to suggest measures on sex workers dignity.

The court confirmed the need to get views from the concerned people about whom the committee is formed, after an objection was lodged by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare.  They had argued that as these organisations 'openly advocated for the rights of sex workers' that this would make their inclusion contrary to the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act.  This was rejected by the Supreme Court.

The delegates at the Sex Worker Freedom Festival welcomed the news.  NSWP President Andrew Hunter said, “The Supreme Court of India has reiterated that “right to live with dignity” is a Constitutional right. This would help our struggle worldwide to go a long way ahead.”

Read more on this story in The Sunday Indian.

Review of “Dangerous Sex, Invisible Labor: Sex Work and the Law in India”

Submitted by NSWP on 19th July 2012

From Rightswork.org

Read the review of Prabha Kotiswaran’s “Dangerous Sex, Invisible Labor: Sex Work and the Law in India” By Chaitanya Lakkimsetti at Rightswork.org.  This new book dispels this myth of sex workers as predominantly trafficked and as quintessential victims of violence.

15th Bulletin from Durbar

Submitted by NSWP on 8th July 2012

The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee is a collective of 65000 female, male and transgender sex workers in West Bengal, India. Their most recent Bulletin (No 15.) includes news about discussions regarding a Universal Pension Scheme, a recent Film Festival hosted by DMSC celebrating 20 years of Sonagachi, and news of a joint DMSC / UCLA study on ART adherence.

Download this resource: 
application/pdf iconBulletin15.pdf