Resources

Sex Workers mark the 3rd International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers with a protest at the 6th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong. 

December 17 is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers and each year sex-worker organisations in different parts of the world organise different activities to commemorate the sex workers who have been abused and/or killed, and urge the public to respect sex workers' human rights. Just in time for the 6th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference (MC6) held in Hong Kong, sex-worker organisations from all over the world (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia) marched and held exhibitions to help the public understand more about the situation of sex workers, and to eliminate violence against sex workers.

For more information on Prostitution Issues at the World Conference on Women Beijing '95 see the Prostitutes Education Network at: http://www.bayswan.org/UNpage.html.

Trafficking Statement from the North American Delegates of the Network of Sex Work Projects

Recognizing that fraudulent and coercive trafficking and forced prostitution have historically been problems, threatening the health and well-being of women in developing countries, as well as women in post-industrialized countries, and

From: PRay@amnesty.org
Subject: Guatemala - LGBT activist shot, witness in danger
Category: PUBLIC
Date: 21 December 2005
AI Index: AMR 34/044/2005
UA 325/05

Fear for Safety — Guatemala

LGBT activist shot, witness in danger

Sulma (legal name Kevin Josue Alegria Robles) Other transvestite sex workers in Guatemala City Other members of the Organizacion de Apoyo a una Sexualidad Integral frente al SIDA, Integral Sexuality AIDS Support Organisation (OASIS)

MEDIA RELEASE
Friday, December 30, 2006

WE ARE INDIGNANT!

We Condemn To The Highest The Degree The Barbaric Acts Alleged To Be Police And Uniformed Officers Of Guatemala!

It is sad to note that persons who are given the responsibility of safeguarding the lives of the people in the community and maintaining peace and order ARE THE LAW BREAKERS THEMSELVES!

The death of Paulina and shooting of Sulma are examples of abuse of power! We are sad and we condemn those perpetrators that has caused her death and endangering the life of all other travestis/transgenders who do sex work!

In response to the traditional emphasis on the rights, interests, and well-being of individual research subjects, there has been growing attention focused on the importance of involving communities in research development and approval.

Research for Sex Work 8: Sex Work and Law Enforcement is a peer-reviewed publication for sex workers, activists, health workers, researchers, NGO staff and policy makers. It is available in English. All issues of Research for Sex Work can be found here.

This document is a collection of a number of papers presenting a broad overview of current research and data on trafficking in particular regions of the world. Nine of the articles focus on specific regions, and three of the articles explore issues relating to research methods. The papers, in total, give readers an opportunity to not only see the current state of research on global trafficking, but to also consider the suggestions by some authors for areas in need of more study.

“Demand” is a current buzzword among some anti-trafficking activists, in which they argue that demand for sex work drives trafficking in persons, and that arresting clients who patronize sex workers will reduce the problem. However, demand for sex work is not a predominant driving factor for trafficking, which is driven by poverty, race, and gender inequities.

You can download this 1 page PDF resource above. This resource is in English.

Prostitutes of New York is an organisation of many kinds of workers in New York City’s
sex industry. PONY is a member of the international Network of Sex Work Projects,
which advocates for the rights of sex workers around the world. We are concerned about
two keywords that have arisen in anti-sex work anti-trafficking advocacy: “demand” and
“dignity.” This statement addresses use of the term “Dignity.”

The subject of The Politics of Prostitution is not really prostitution politics. Instead, the research collected here seeks to answer the questions ‘Do women’s policy agencies matter?’ and ‘Is there such a thing as state feminism?’ The Research Network on Gender Politics and the State (RNGS) has been studying these questions since 1995 in ‘Western political democracies’; prostitution is only one of five issues which members have used to measure the impact of women’s movements for equality. By the term ‘women’s movements’, the researchers mean a range of organisations and groups, both grassroots and formal, which may or may not self-identify as feminist. By ‘women’s policy agencies’, they refer to government institutions which exist to advance women’s status in society. These definitions are key to appreciating the book.