Regional updates: Asia and the Pacific

Many of the organisations in the Asia and the Pacific network are also members of the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW).

Board members

Kaythi Win, chair of APNSW working for TOP, Myanmar.

Khartini Slamah, Transgender Sex Worker and had been working on HIV/AIDS for the last 23 years. Used to work with PT Foundation, a non profit organisation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from from 1990 to 2000. Now working with Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW) as Coordination and Networking Officer and based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Currently I am sitting on various board i.e Executive Working Group member of Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN), Board of 7Sisters, MSMGF TG Reference Group Member. Board member of APCOM and also Executive Board of NSWP. Expertise in Transgender and sex workers and advocating for Transgender and Sex Workers RIGHTS.

Andrew Hunter works for the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers and is currently President of NSWP.

Zi Teng Hong Kong Newsletter

You can read these interesting articles from the 39th Newsletter from our colleagues at Zi Teng - based in Hong Kong.

The topics covered in this issue of the newsletter include:

complaints of abuse by massage workers and migrant sex workers
injustice in the Hong Kong courts
abuses of police power

Their newsletter is available on the website here.

Or you can read or download the newsletter here (English) or here (Chinese).

24th January 2012 by Neil McCulloch

China: Prostituting to Defend Sex Workers' Rights

From: globalvoicesonline.org

Well-known blogger and feminist activist Ye Haiyan, also known as Liumang Yan (Hooligan Sparrow), decided to provide sexual services to rural peasant workers on January 11 in defense of sex workers' rights after she witnessed a recent raid by police officers in a brothel in Guangxi province.

Liu wrote about her day of prostitution on her Sina Weibo account on January 12 and while her posts were removed by Sina employees, Liu has a backup of her writings on Tencent's Qzone personal diary site. Her account illustrates the lives of the lowest strata sex workers in China.

Read a reconstruction of her deleted Sina microblog posts taken from Qzone here:

17th January 2012 by Neil McCulloch

10th Bulletin from Durbar

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 10.) includes the views of sex workers regarding rehabilitation and a report on the Capacity Building event for sex workers that took place in December.

You can download this 5 page pdf Bulletin below (in English).

17th January 2012 by Neil McCulloch

The Grey Man and the Akhas - anti-trafficking in Thailand?

Reproduced with the kind permission of www.andrew-drummond.com

Andrew Drummond is a British independent journalist and occasional television documentary maker based out of Bangkok and covering Thailand and South East Asia.

Andrew has recently published this fascinating video on 'YouTube.com', exposing the activities of 'The Grey Man’, an Australian registered charity claiming to work on anti-trafficking.

You can also read the full story on Andrew Drummond's website here.

16th January 2012 by Neil McCulloch

8th Bulletin from Durbar

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 8.) includes details of new reproductive health services now offered by DMSC and information about health insurance cards given to sex workers in Sonagachi.

You can download this 6 page pdf Bulletin below (in English).

18th November 2011 by Neil McCulloch

Joint Press Statement: Malaysians Deserve Freedom from Discrimination, Harassment and Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

We, the undersigned civil society organisations and members of the Seksualiti Merdeka (Sexuality Independence) coalition strongly condemn the attacks on the annual festival by PERKASA, Hindu Sangam and PAS Youth.

7th November 2011 by NSWP

Criminalising transmission of STIs in China is an obstacle to HIV prevention

After another recent case where an HIV positive female sex worker was jailed for propagating sexually transmissible infections, local groups that work with sex workers speak out about the possible impact on HIV infections and how the discriminatory nature of the law violates the human rights of sex workers.

You can read the whole article published in the ‘Global Times’ here.

2nd August 2011 by Neil McCulloch

Elena Jeffreys of Scarlet Alliance explains why feminists should listen to sex workers

This is an edited version of a talk given by Elena Jeffreys, national president of Scarlet Alliance, at the Feminist Futures conference in Melbourne, Australia 28-29 May 2011 on the panel Why Feminism Matters.

14th June 2011 by NSWP

Don't use the Swedish model for ACT sex workers

Article by Elena Jeffreys of Scarlet Alliance in the Canberra Times.

27th May 2011 by NSWP

Sex worker invited to Mamata's swearing-in ceremony

A sex worker representing DMSC was the first sex worker to be invited to attend such an event. Read the full article in the Times of India here.

27th May 2011 by NSWP