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NEWS & LETTERS, April - May 2008Sex Workers Rights DayInternational Sex Workers Rights Day began in India on March 3, 2001, when over 25,000 sex workers attended a festival held by Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, a Calcutta-based group of over 50,000 sex workers and members of their communities. Every year since, prostitutes and other sexual entertainers including strippers and phone sex operators have observed the day with worldwide demonstrations demanding their rights and dignity as workers. Groups of self-organized sex workers in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, Canada and the U.S. are demanding decriminalization of all sex work, not legalization, which leads to government regulations that disempower workers. They also oppose the Swedish model, which criminalizes only the customers and pimps. Among the advantages of decriminalization are that prostitutes could go to the police when they are victims of violence; and they would have easier access to life-saving resources such as condoms, medical care, and drop-in centers, as well as programs that can help them if they want to leave prostitution. International sex workers' rights activists as well as the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women are demanding that a human rights approach to sex trafficking replace the law enforcement approach. They say victims of trafficking should not be imprisoned or deported to countries from which they were trying to escape. This year activists have been showing the 13-minute film, "Taking the Pledge," in which members of human rights groups working with sex workers tell of the devastating effects of the Bush administration's anti-prostitution pledge. Groups must sign a pledge stating that they have an official position against prostitution in order to receive funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. This has taken away resources that help sex workers and victims of sex trafficking. Prominent sex workers rights organizations include the Sex Workers Activist Network (SWAN) in Asia and Europe, the Sex Workers Outreach Project in the U.S., and the Network of Sex Work Projects in all countries. --Adele |
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