Devine Economic Development Group - Making Sex Work Safer

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Location

Tarime
Tanzania
Contact email: 
devine.group@yahoo.co.uk
Who do you work with?: 
Our group work with both sex workers and MSM within a mentor organisation known as Devine Economic Development group with a program known as Making Sex Work Safer for sex workers group
How are sex workers involved in your organisation?: 
Making Sex Work Safer currently has 71 active sex workers as members who are actively involved in HIV/AIDS activities, advocacy for rights, stigma reduction activities among others, with all members involvement in activities. The member’s are also involved in electing the leaders of the organisation and adherence exercises that involves MSM and CSW infected with HIV/AIDS and TB.
Which of NSWP priority areas does your organisation work on?: 
Oppose the criminalisation and other legal oppression of sex work and support its recognition as work
Critique the trafficking paradigm that conflates representations of sex work, migration, and mobility
Advocate for universal access to health services, including primary health care, HIV and sexual and reproductive health services
Speak out about violence against sex workers, including violence from police, institutions, clients, and intimate partners, while challenging the myth that sex work is inherently gender-based violence
Oppose human rights abuses, including coercive programming, mandatory testing, raids and forced rehabilitation
Challenge stigma and discrimination against sex workers, their families and partners, and others involved in sex work
Advocate for the economic empowerment and social inclusion of sex workers as sex workers
What are the two main challenges that the sex workers you work with face: 
The major challenges for sex work in our community are • Attitude of the community towards sex work, • Stigma and discrimination, • Rape and other forms of sexual abuses, • HIV/AIDS, • Lack of information • Culture, • Illiteracy among sex workers necessitating poor bargaining on safer sex that is also generated from extreme poverty.
Describe other areas of your work: 
Empowering women on bargaining for the leadership position and training women on the alternative skill of building for an economic venture.