Following on from our story the illegal raid on WONETHA's offices hundreds of sex workers at popular pubs in Gulu Town are on the run, following the arrest of dozens of their colleagues. The northern regional police spokesperson, Mr Johnson Kilama, said they apprehended dozens of sex workers and committed them to court.
On the 7th of May 2012, the WONETHA Drop-In Centre in Gulu, Uganda was raided by police and computers and other items taken away. WONETHA’s staff at the Drop In centre were also arrested and detained.
The arrested outreach workers and 3 other member were taken to court and charged with ‘living on the earnings of prostitution’.
On Monday 14th May hundreds of sex workers marched in Satara, India to protest against the violent attack on Anu Mokal, a pregnant sex worker in Satara, who was beaten up by police inspector Dayanand Dhome on April 2, along with her friend Ms. Anjana Ghadge. Three days later, on 5th April, she suffered a miscarriage.
You can now sign the petition online here to support their demands.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee, has recommended Truvada for approval for prescription as HIV prevention for those most at risk of infection.
Sex workers will march in Satara, India on Monday the 14th of May to protest against the violent attack on Anu Mokal, a pregnant sex worker in Satara, who was beaten up by police inspector Dayanand Dhome on April 2, along with her friend Ms. Anjana Ghadge. Three days later, on 5th April, she suffered a miscarriage.
A study published in the American Journal of Public Health highlights the ‘role of safer indoor sex work environments as venues for public health and violence prevention’ and indicates the importance of removing legal barriers to supportive housing programmes.
As reported in the Vancouver Sun indoor sex workers benefit from safer working environments, less exposure to violence and reduced exposure to HIV.
Raids on flats in London and increased activity by the Metropolitan Police in targeting street-based sex workers have forced women to work underground, begin working outdoors and to move away from areas they know well. All of which has put them at greater risk of violence and driven them further away from the support services they use and trust, reports the Independent today.
In a statement released today the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) expressed its concern over recent actions by Greek authorities involving the arrest, detention, mandatory HIV testing, publication of photographs and personal details, and pressing of criminal charges against at least 12 sex workers.
The full statement on the UNAIDS website can be read here.
Sex workers in Zambia have been in the spotlight this week as both religious leaders and a non-governmental organisation weighed in to the debate on how the police deal with sex work in the country.
Robert Carr, international human rights and HIV/AIDS activist, died a year ago today in Toronto.
Robert was a tireless campaigner for the health and human rights of people living with HIV and men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, sex workers, of all genders and transgender people. He fought to secure the right of access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for the most marginalised communities.
Robert remains an inspiration to us and is very sorely missed.
In a deplorable move, Athens police have published photographs of 12 sex workers who have tested HIV positive in the last few days, with more disgraceful abuses being promised in the future.
You can sign the petition to the Greek Prime Minister to stop the forced testing and outing of HIV+ sex workers here. (Read it in English, Spanish & French)
Sex workers ran a number of exciting and challenging sessions during theAWID Forumin 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 about worker’s rights’ which was organised by thePaulo Longo Research Initiative. The panel was moderated by Meena Seshu ofSangramandLaura Agustín and Sachumi Mayeo of Empower spoke.
Watch the videos of this session (with thanks to APNSW):
También puede leer el discurso aquí en español. You can also read the speech in Spanish here.
The Association of Women in Development Forum is currently taking place in Turkey. In a speech of quiet intensity Kaythi Win delivered a plenary that got 80% of the 2000 feminists in the audience on their feet in support of sex workers rights. Her speech in full follows.
PROS Network (Providers and Resources Offering Services to sex workers) participated in two studies in New York around the impact of policies that use of condoms as ‘evidence of prostitution’.
The award from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, will provide sex workers living with HIV with HIV prevention and treatment information. Those trained will, in turn, will pass that knowledge on to other sex workers. Additionally, HOYMAS is working with the Kenyan government to improve public policies related to HIV among male sex workers.
Sex workers are a critical aspect of Namibia’s plans to tackle HIV and AIDS. However, up until 2011 little was known about their needs and challenges and nor were there national guidelines for effective, rights-based programming with sex workers. A series of rapid assessments on sex work and HIV was conducted by sex workers with the support of UNFPA and UNAIDS Namibia and the Society for Family Health (SFH). This was implemented as part of UNAIDS’ programme acceleration funding (PAF) award to UNFPA Namibia.
X:Talk have launched a campaign for a moratorium on sex worker arrests during the Olympics.
They are seeking a moratorium – a suspension of legal powers – on arrests of sex workers before and up to the end of the London Olympics.
'Governments and NGOs draw a link between sporting events and increase in trafficking, but there is no proven link. We ask for a moratorium because the usual response by governments to those assumptions is to crack down on sex workers. Up to now, anti-trafficking measures have mainly been about making criminal law interventions. But raids on brothels, for example, find that the number of people trafficked is nowhere near as many as thought.'
Press Release from: English Collective of Prostitutes
As arrests, raids and prosecutions of sex workers increase in Olympic boroughs and throughout the UK, calls for the decriminalisation of prostitution highlight the need to protect sex workers from rape and violence.
In response to the recent article in the Hindu where renowned feminist and journalist Gloria Steinem talked of an ‘epidemic of sex trafficking’, Professor Shohini Ghosh writes:
The ongoing ‘sex-trafficking’ controversy surrounding Village Voice Media-owned Backpage.com (a website where escorts can advertise their services) continues.
Three new resources have been published by UNFPA / UNAIDS, in partnership with ASWA and The Society for Family Health, on sex worker rights and HIV in Namibia and are now available in our 'Resources' section (or just click on the name of the document below.)
UNAIDS recently feature this story on the front page of their website about sex workers in both Namibia and Kenya advocating for their rights of access to health care and legal services, including coverage of the demontrations for International Sex Worker Rights Day on 3rd March. It is certainly significant to see stories such as this being given such prominence on the UNAIDS site.
Matthew Greenall on his Epidreamiology blog has however challeged a couple of significant accuracies carried in the article, specifically about sex owrkers not being able to negotiate condom use; and regarding exactly why sex workers asked for changes in laws and policies that impact on their lives.
Many people will have been following the developing news stories about New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who attacks the sex industry and promotes a 'rescue and rehabiitation' approach.
Recently the Village Voice exposed the Schapiro Group, a private consulting firm in Georgia, and the Women’s Funding Network of California, a women’s charity, for knowingly deceiving both congress and the public using false data manufactured through fraudulent research. These groups presented alarming reports of a sudden rise in trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls.
Chinese authorities hold periodic sweeps to detain sex workers, drug users, and other ‘social undesirables’ en masse in advance of national holidays and major government conferences.
Chinese sex workers says that police crackdowns don’t stop sex work – they only drive sex workers further underground, putting them at higher risk of violence and HIV/AIDS.
Source: NSWP member organisation Stella press release.
Ontario Court of Appeal Judgment
Partial Victory: Judgment Abandons Street Sex Workers
It is with a mix of joy and disappointment that we have learned of the decision by the five Ontario Court of Appeal judges that recognize the unconstitutionality of the articles criminalizing bawdy houses and living on the avails of prostitution, except in cases of exploitation. It is a victory in and of itself to be able to work legally indoors, alone or in groups and to have the right to have people around to increase security, such as receptionists, drivers, managers, agency owners, etc.
News it just breaking of the Ontario Court of Appeal ruling. This ruling upholds a lower court decision but actually makes changes to some of the existing laws.
Sex Workers in Madrid are taking direct action on the Banking industry by declaring an indefinite strike and refusing clients who work in this sector.
They say that until bankers return to providing credits to Spanish families and also small- and medium-sized businesses, there will be no sexual pleasures for their employees.
At the recent World Health Organisation conference in Montreaux, Switzerland looking at addressing violence against sex workers in the context of HIV, St. James Infirmary programmes director Stephany Ashley presented information about their media campaign on the public transport system.
The Guyana Coalition of Sex Workers (GCSW) is advocating for a better educated Guyana Police Force capable of handling diverse issues in a mature manner.
An article in The Atlantic shows how several US states are still using possession of condoms as evidence for arresting people 'suspected of engaging in prostitution.'
The reality sex workers face in Namibia was revealed in a UNFPA community assessment conducted in five towns in which more than 200 sex workers participated.
March 3rd is International Sex Worker Rights Day. Many sex worker organisations plan special events on or around this day each year. Here are just a few of those events and how they were covered in the media / online. Updated to show even more coverage!
Scott Long writes on his website, Paper Bird, about the way the media reports on sex work, Nicholas Kristof and the misuse of language by ideological opponents of sex work.
IPPF's HIV Update newsletter, the first in 2012 focuses on 'laws & policies'. This issue features an article from the Global Commission on HIV and the Law. Many sex workers contributed to the evidence gathered by the Commission, including through the regional dialogues.
In her book Illicit Flirtations, Rhacel Parrenas provides us with cutting edge, systematic, and empirical research on Filipina migrant hostesses— the women the U.S. government called the largest group of “trafficked” persons in the world. Illicit Flirtations challenges this simplistic long-distance assessment. It presents the nuances, differences, struggles and hopes of Filipina women working in Japan as bar hostesses.
On 21st February, Empower held a very successful launch of their anti trafficking report "Hit & Run: Sex Worker's Research on Anti trafficking in Thailand."
The launch also saw a special exhibition of a tapestry, 'The Mida Tapestry', sewn by sex workers that speaks of the experience of a 'police rescue' event at Mida Karaoke Bar.
Empower also premiered this short film "Last Rescue in Siam" (above) made by sex workers in Chiang Mai.
Laura Agustín reviews Siddharth Kara's book 'Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery', in her article in Counterpunch.
Laura exposes the innate weaknesses in the author's simplistic approach, the lack of academic rigour in producing his findings, which are 'neither based on methodological research nor reflecting knowledge of literature.' Agustín analyses also questions the author's 'data' which he describes as 'slavery economics' - questioning how he arrives at his figures 'that can only be obtained through painstaking, long, repetitive research, which Kara does not even pretend to have done.'
The book's omission of any opinion or argument dissenting from his concepts and lack of referencing of academic study does question whether the book was peer reviewed or why it was published by Columbia University Press.
Novarstis, a multi-billion dollar Swiss pharma company may get the Indian Supreme Court to shut down the supply of affordable medicines. Novartis is suing the Indian government, if Novartis wins, it will threaten Indian companies’ ability to produce low-cost medicines for malaria, AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening diseases, depriving millions around the world of the treatments they desperately need and threatening thousands of Indian jobs.
Sign the petition against this action on the AVAAZ website.
