Resources

The Kenya Sex Worker Alliance (KESWA) and Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Programme, with support from NSWP and CREA, submitted this shadow report to the 68th CEDAW Session, which took place October-November 2017. Titled “Aren’t We Also Women,” the report incorporates quotes from sex workers and is based on desk research and extensive interviews with KESWA member organisations.

Project X, Singapore, with support from NSWP, submitted this shadow report to the 68th CEDAW Session, which took place October-November 2017. The report focuses on the various human rights abuses and discrimination. In particular, it focuses on the ambiguous legal framework governing sex work in Singapore and the impact it has on women’s lives.

The Nigeria Sex Workers Association- Precious Jewels (NSWA) submitted this shadow report to the 67^th CEDAW Session, which took place in July 2017. The report focuses on the impact of stigma, penalisation and discrimination on female sex workers' ability to access HIV prevention and health services, and their vulnerability to HIV and violence at the hands of police. The report also provides background information about NSWA and economic, health, and population context in Nigeria.

This report by Empower Foundation Thailand describes the organisation’s experience submitting a shadow report to and attending the CEDAW committee’s 67th session in Summer, 2017.  The report includes detailed information on all stages of Empower’s engagement with CEDAW, including their goals for engagement, drafting their report, and participating in formal and informal CEDAW sessions in Geneva.

Empower Foundation Thailand submitted this shadow report to the 67^th CEDAW session, which took place in July 2017. The report focuses on raids against entertainment industry establishments, which are perpetuated by the conflation of sex work and trafficking. The report details entrapment and police violence during raids, as well as lack of access to a fair trial, labour protections, and health for Thai sex workers. A detailed report on their experiences engaging with the CEDAW committee is also available here.

NSWP members SANGRAM and VAMP, along with CASAM and women’s rights organisation MASUM submitted this shadow report on the status of sex workers in India to the 58th CEDAW Committee in July 2014. The report highlights the violence and rights violations experienced by sex workers and includes testimonies from sex workers across India.

In 2015, NSWP member Silver Rose submitted this shadow report to the CEDAW committee review of the Russian Federation.  The shadow report is based on information collected by Silver Rose during their day-to-day work with sex workers in St. Petersburg, Silver Rose documentation of human rights abuses, and analysis of media representations across Russia.

NSWP members, including TAMPEP, SOA Aids Nederland and PROUD, contributed to this shadow report by Dutch NGOs and CSOs submitted to the 65th CEDAW session. This shadow report documents a wide range human rights violations affecting women in the Netherlands, including transgender sex workers.

The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform and Pivot Legal submitted this shadow report to the 65th CEDAW session. This shadow report documents the human rights violations affecting Canadian sex workers since the passage of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, which criminalises sex workers, clients, third parties, advertising websites, and made modifications to migration regulations. 

The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) submitted this shadow report to to the 66th CEDAW Session on Ireland. The report focuses on the harms of The Sexual Offences Bill, passed at the beginning of 2017, which criminalises the purchase of sexual services and increase the penalties for indoor sex workers. NSWP has previously reported on this bill and SWAI’s organizing efforts against the bill.

NSWP Member Legalife-Ukraine, in collaboration with civil society organisations representing women drug users, LGBT communities, and women living with HIV in Ukraine, submitted this shadow report to to the 66th CEDAW Session. The shadow report documents discrimination against these communities by police, medical, and social service institutions. It also documents legal discrimination.

Sex Worker Forum-AT has submitted this shadow report to the Committee to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) sixty-sixth session on Germany. The shadow report specifically addresses how Germany’s new sex work legislation, known as the “Prostituiertenschutzgesetz” will hurt sex workers from a gender equality perspective. Germany’s new federal law will come into effect 1 July 2017. It has been criticised by NSWP member Hydra, including in their article in Research for Sex Work 14.

The Kenyan Network of Sex Workers, including KESWA and the Bar Hostess Empowerment & Support Programme, has submitted this document to the CEDAW Working Group which will review Kenya in November 2017.

The Sex Workers Network (SWN), Bangladesh & Sex Workers and Allies in South Asia (SWASA), Bangladesh Chapter submitted this shadow report to to the 65th CEDAW Session, which took place in November 2016.

The following is a statement from the National Network of Sex Workers challenging the ‘Last Girl First’: Second World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Women and Girls (January 29-31, 2017, New Delhi, India) organised by the Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution International (CAP Intl). 

The South Asia Sex Workers Network (Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) have submitted this joint response to the UN Women Consultation on "sex work, sex trade, and prostitution." They produced a film featuring sex workers voices towards an inclusive policy on sex work, and based their response on their consultation with sex workers. The consultation was attended by participants from four South Asian countries respresenting four national level networks, five state level networks, 55 community-led organisations, and 25 supporting organisations.

The Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (SWAN) have submitted the following response to the UN Women consultation on "sex work, sex trade, and prostitution." They voice concerns regarding the limited possibility for sex workers to take part in an internet-based consultation. Many sex worker groups have limited or no access to internet and are not familiar with the language used in the consultation.

The International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) submitted the following response to the UN Women consultation on "sex work, sex trade, and prostitution." In their preamble, ICRSE criticizes UN Women's lack of meaningful consultation with sex workers in the development of their policy. They remind UN Women that the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), of which UN Women is a Co-Sponsor, already has developed a sex work policy that is founded in UN Human Rights treaties.

The Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW) submitted the following letter to UN Women outlining their concerns about the lack of meaningful consultation with sex workers as they develop their policy on sex work. According to APNSW Management Team and Secretariat, UN Women have not held any major consultations with sex workers in the Asia Pacific region. They urge UN Women to organise a meaningful consultation with sex workers to ensure the policy is informed by the experiences of sex workers in the region. In addition to this letter, APNSW submitted a response to the UN Women online consultation on "sex work, sex trade, and prostitution". 

Davida, in collaboration with The Prostitution Policy Watch, The Brazilian Network of Prostitutes, The Association of Warrior Women, The Group of Prostitute Women from the State of Paráb (GEMPAC), Transrevolução, and Casa Nem/PrepareNem have made a submission to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review. This submission outlines human rights violations of sex workers in Brazil.