News Archive: February 2017

From the 11 - 15 February 2017, NSWP member HPLGBT organised and conducted mobilisation activities for transgender sex workers and their allies in Kiev, Ukraine.

NSWP is seeking to recruit a Policy Officer to support the Senior Policy Officer in developing advocacy tools and in providing input to policy documents and forums in line with the NSWP Consensus Statement and the priorities set by the NSWP Board.

Hanteo National Union (HNU), a sex workers right’s orgnaisation in Korea told the Korea Times that sex workers plan to protest if the government pushes ahead with plans to shut down their workplaces.

NSWP's Bridging the Gaps sex worker programme partner AidsFonds is looking for a policy officer. The details of their job posting is below. Sex workers are encouraged to apply!

A new sex work law has been adopted in Ireland. The Sexual Offences Bill criminalises the purchase of sexual services and increase the penalties for indoor sex workers. Ireland has become a seventh country (after Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Canada, and France) to adopt the “Nordic Model” of criminalising the clients of sex workers.

Selling and buying sex was not illegal in Ireland. Communicating about sexual services in public was prohibited and third parties were criminalised. It was also illegal for sex workers to work together indoors.

VNExpress has reported that authorities in Hanoi, Vietnam are planning their ‘biggest crackdown ever’ for 2017. The city is aiming to meet a quota of 500 charges this year. They want to avoid repeat offenders being charged and provide financial assistance to help sex workers find new jobs.

There have been calls for systematic change, accountability and justice to be served following the death of a sex worker who was pursued in a crackdown in Daun Penh, Cambodia. Several international non-governmetal organisations (NGOs), including human rights organisations and advocacy groups for sex workers have demanded that the Cambodian government decriminalise sex work to protect the rights of sex workers.

From 29 January to 2 February 2017, NSWP hosted a meeting with the regional networks part of the sex worker networks’ consortium to share experiences and plan the next year of the Robert Carr Fund for Civil Society Networks’ grant (RCNF) and Bridging the Gaps (BtG) grant. RCNF provides funding to regional networks to offer training to sex workers on the Global Fund and the Sex Worker Implementation Tool.