World AIDS Day was marked by an air of optimism amongst many donors, international funders and governments last year. Due to a history of exclusion from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), we as the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) were particularly interested to see the US Government’s revised blueprint for ‘Creating an AIDS-free Generation’.

下载资源: 

NSWP Statement PEPFAR (2).pdf

Launch of APNSW+ and NSWP+

Tuesday 24^th July 2012

Sex Worker Freedom Festival

Kolkata, India

We are a group of HIV+ Sex Workers and people committed to treatment access for sex workers living with HIV. We have decided that we need a special platform to fight for the rights of HIV+ sex workers and to bring the sex worker’s issues and the energy and glamour of the Sex workers movement to the treatment activist movement!

Our new platforms ‘Asia and Pacific Network of Positive Sex Workers’ (APNSW+) and ‘Global Network of Positive Sex Workers’ (NSWP+) make these demands:

• HIV+ Sex workers demand the right to look fabulous- to do this we need better and affordable HIV drugs now
• WE DEMAND AS POSITIVE PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO WORK AS SEX WORKERS!!!
• We demand the right to work in all sectors, including in the sex industry
• We demand that the drug companies from the West stop trying to kill us through their attacks on developing countries right to manufacture, export and import generic ARVs
• As HIV+ sex workers we face MULTIPLE stigma and discrimination despite 25 years of treatment activism there is an extra layer of stigma if we have HIV and do sex work. As positive sex workers, we demand that this stigma is fought and our specific needs are met
• We demand not to be last in line for treatment or refused treatment because we are sex workers
• Treatment needs to be matched to the patient not the patient matched to the treatment
• Post Exposure Prophylaxis is not available to most people around the world – we need access and availability of PEP, especially for sex workers

AS HIV+ SEX WORKERS, WE DEMAND THE RIGHT TO LOOK FABULOUS!!!

This joint session featuring speakers from both Kolkata and Washington looked at the legal, policy, labour and public health rationale for creating an enabling environment in which sex work is integrated into communities as simply another occupation.

The keynote speaker was Naomi Akers from St James Infirmary.

Elly Katabira, president of the International AIDS Society, has reportedly said that the exclusion of sex workers and drug users from the Washington DC conference was not an issue as they are “criminals.”

Responding Andrew Hunter, NSWP President said her comments were shocking.

“This International Conference (in Washington) we believe has been a huge missed opportunity with key affected populations such as sex workers missing from the conversation on how we can work together to end AIDS.”

Ruth Morgan Thomas, NSWP Global Coordinator also said: “We need to shout very loudly at Washington; at the President of the International AIDS Society.”

Read more in this story in The Hindu.