Yale-Harvard Study Scapegoats Sex Workers for COVID-19 Spread
Sex workers in India are speaking out against a study by academics from Yale School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.
Asia and the Pacific
COVID-19 Impact – Bangladesh
NSWP are conducting a survey to monitor and report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sex workers and sex worker organisations and their communities.
We are sharing the stories and experiences of organisations from around the world, as reported to us, in order to gain an insight into what governments are doing – and not doing – to support sex workers and sex worker organisations and how the sex worker community are responding to the crisis.
All India Network of Sex Workers (AINSW)
All India Network of Sex Workers (AINSW) is a collective of 5 million sex workers in India.
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Strumphet Alliance Network
Strumphet Alliance Network (SPAN) is a female sex worker-led organisation in Fiji that works towards the promotion and protection of the rights of past and present sex workers through community engagement, empowerment, capacity building and advocacy.
Bill to decriminalise sex work introduced in Australia’s Northern Territory
Sex workers in Australia have praised the Government for working with sex workers to introduce a new Bill to decriminalise sex work in the state. The Bill was introduced on 18th September and aims to ‘decriminalise sex work and legalise contracts in relation to sex work’, and to ‘enhance sex worker, client and public health and safety’.
Trafficking 101: A Community Resource for Sex Workers' Rights Activists
As part of its programme 'Rights not Rescue: Sex Work, Migration, Exploitation and Trafficking', ICRSE has published 'Trafficking 101: a community resource for sex workers' rights activists'.
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RAIDED: How Anti-Trafficking Strategies Increase Sex Workers' Vulnerability to Exploitative Practices
RAIDED was developed to forefront the experiences of women in sex work who have been raided, rescued and rehabilitated under the provision of anti-trafficking initiatives in India. It examines women’s narratives along with quantitative data about the strategies of raid, rescue and rehabilitation deployed to combat trafficking of women into sex work. The study unravels the impact of laws and policies on the lives of sex workers.
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Nepal CEDAW Shadow Report
Society for Women Awareness Nepal (SWAN) submitted this shadow report during the 71st CEDAW Session, which took place October-November 2018. The report elaborates on the situation of cisgender and transgender women who are sex workers in Nepal. It focuses on the social justice and health issues that sex workers in Nepal face.
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India’s Supreme Court rules that sex workers have the right to refuse services
Last week India’s Supreme Court ruled that sex workers have the right to refuse services, in a landmark case overturning a 2009 ruling in which 4 people were acquitted of rape.
New Zealand CEDAW Shadow Report
The New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, with support from NSWP, submitted this shadow report to the 70th CEDAW Session, which took place June-July 2017. The report elaborates on the situation of women who are sex workers in New Zealand. It documents the way their situation has been advanced under the New Zealand Model of decriminalisation. The report also highlights disparities that still exist between non-migrant sex workers and migrant sex workers.
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