It seems appropriate that our follow up to the Facebook “Kill your hooker” story is a post on Sex Worker Rights.
Today, March 3, has been named by sex worker rights activists as a day to recognize sex worker rights as human rights. The following article comes to us via the St. James Infirmary, a free medical and social services clinic in San Francisco run by and for sex workers:
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International Sex Worker Rights Day
The 3rd of March is International Sex Worker Rights Day. The day originated in 2001 when over 25,000 sex workers gathered in India for a sex worker festival. The organizers, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, a Calcutta based group whose membership consists of somewhere upwards of 50,000 sex workers and members of their communities. Sex worker groups across the world have subsequently celebrated 3 March as International Sex Workers’ Rights Day.
Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (2002): “We felt strongly that we should have a day what need to be observed by the sex workers community globally. Keeping in view the large mobilization of all types of global sex workers [Female,Male, Transgender] , we proposed to observe 3rd March as THE SEX WORKERS RIGHTS DAY.”
This year, we celebrate March 3, International Day for Sex Worker Rights with a lobbying day in Sacramento. Our issues include criminalization of out communities, targeting of transgendered workers, migrants and sex workers of color, lack of police protection and recourse in cases of abuse, and targeting sex workers in lieu of addressing the real issues of trafficking.
This March 3rd Sex Workers Outreach Project NorCal members are bringing forth a specific and urgent issue for which we seek you support. Among the numerous hardships which effect our communities, it is surprising that our insistence on condoms for protection is actually used as evidence in prostitution cases by police and District Attorneys in this state. Although sex workers use condoms, it is clear that condom use is inhibited when the mention or use of condoms can be employed against them. This practice is rampant. In fact, two SWOP members are challenging cases which use this type of evidence. The legislation we bring to Sacramento will halt this practice.
As the late Senator Milton Marks wrote in a 1994 letter condemning this practice, “The result of this has been a fear among prostitutes to use condoms. This is alarming to me and should be alarming to all public health officials, as it runs directly counter to the work we have done in the AIDS pandemic.”
We believe ONLY RIGHTS CAN STOP THE WRONGS. If you would like to join us please call SWOP 877-776-2004
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Other resources on US-based and international sex worker rights movements include:
- Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (focuses on protecting the rights of all workers vulnerable to exploitation, including sex workers)
- Network of Sex Work Projects
- Sex Workers’ Outreach Project
- Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network (SWAN) — Focusing on Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
- The Sex Workers Project
Comments 4
zcato — May 6, 2010
This is great subject to bring attention to, especially now as STI rates are continually increasing, not only overseas, but here in the US as well. Open discussion about these topics is bringing about change slowly as more people are educated. And sex workers, as those employed in one of the world's oldest professions, need to be able to comfortably protect themselves so that we may prevent further spread of an already rampant problem.
Parvez Babul — February 27, 2011
I express solidarity with the demands of sex workers. Becaue I do believe that sex workers rights are human rights. Parvez Babul, Journalist; Bangladesh. Also I have written an article to educate the children of sex workers.
Educate the children of sex workers
Parvez Babul
THE children of commercial sex workers in the brothel of Bangladesh are deprived from human rights and specially education. Because there are hundreds of children have been growing up in the brothel without proper care, education, food, shelter and basic needs. As a result, they are becoming bound to include their names as commercial sex workers. And being failure to be educated, doing any honorable job and rehabilitate their mothers, sisters, near and dear ones from the profession of sex work.
Recently, commercial sex workers organized a seminar and placed their demands to the government to fulfill. One of the demands was to provide education to their children. In fact, education is not an opportunity rather it’s a right to all children including the children of the sex workers; because they are human being too. United Nations has set a goal: ‘universal primary education’, one of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for all children to ensure education for all by 2015.
So, the government must ensure to practice the constitutional rights of all the children including the children of sex workers and ensure to enroll them in mainstream education so that they can complete higher studies. We know that no girl or woman becomes sex workers willingly; rather in most of the cases situation demands and especially for the cause of poverty, illiteracy, lack of awareness, betraying by the boy friends, lovers, husbands and relatives, trafficking and selling them in the brothel.
Taking the reasons in consideration, the government and voluntary organizations should take efforts for sustainable eradication of poverty, to educate all the children, prevent child labor, drop out and arrange vocational/ technical training for them to work in home and abroad. To make awareness to be aware about their human rights, to prevent trafficking of women and children, HIV/ AIDS, to solve many preventable problems and to have sustainable solutions--education, training and employment do not have any substitute. Education can help break the vicious cycle of so- called ‘bad luck’ of our girls and women, makes them able to take part in decision-making about their lives.
So, let us provide quality education to all the children to be self-reliant, empowered, quality teachers as well as leaders also to lead the trade union, political parties and run the country. And let them contribute in the development of the nation as human resource as same as the boys and men. They deserve these rights pursuant to our constitution. Parvez Babul is the associate editor of bdreport24.com and member of national girl child advocacy forum. Email: parvezbabul@gmail.com
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