A labour rights approach to HIV and sex work: Working with sex workers to protect human rights, prevent and eliminate violence and sexual harassment and promote equal access to social protection schemes

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Ouedraogo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Equal Access ◽  
Labour Rights

scholarly journals Unacceptable Forms of Work in the Thai Sex and Entertainment Industry

2019 ◽  
pp. 108-126
Author(s):  
Leo Bernardo Villar
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Entertainment Industry ◽  
Decent Work ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Police Harassment

This article examines the working conditions in sex and entertainment work in Thailand using the Unacceptable Forms of Work (UFW) Framework. Criminalisation of sex work and insufficient oversight of labour conditions increase the vulnerability of sex workers to police harassment; prevent sex workers from accessing legal and social protections; and contribute to the decent work deficit in the sector. Protecting the human rights of sex workers and ensuring decent work in the Thai sex and entertainment industry necessarily involves the decriminalisation of sex work; amending labour and social protection laws, policies, and systems to be inclusive of sex workers; and ensuring implementation. Throughout the process of policy change, the involvement of sex workers, their employers, and civil society organisations is crucial.

scholarly journals Of Raids and Returns: Sex work movement, police oppression, and the politics of the ordinary in Sonagachi, India

2019 ◽  
pp. 127-139
Author(s):  
Simanti Dasgupta
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Red Light ◽  
State Violence ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Sex Worker ◽  
Labour Rights ◽  
Red Light District

Drawing on ethnographic work with Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), a grassroots sex worker organisation in Sonagachi, the iconic red-light district in Kolkata, India, this paper explores the politics of the detritus generated by raids as a form of state violence. While the current literature mainly focuses on its institutional ramifications, this article explores the significance of the raid in its immediate relation to the brothel as a home and a space to collectivise for labour rights. Drawing on atyachar (oppression), the Bengali word sex workers use to depict the violence of raids, I argue that they experience the raid not as a spectacle, but as an ordinary form of violence in contrast to their extraordinary experience of return to rebuild their lives. Return signals both a reclamation of the detritus as well as subversion of the state’s attempt to undermine DMSC’s labour movement.

Recognising the Human Rights of Female Sex Workers in India: Moving from Prohibition to Decriminalisation and a Pro-work Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaya Sagade ◽  
Christine Forster
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Female Sex Workers ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Sex Trade ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Women’S Human Rights ◽  
Work Model ◽  
Women's Human Rights

This article sets out a women’s human rights approach to the legal regulation of sex work developed through an analysis of feminist perspectives, international human rights standards—in particular, the approach of the Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 1979 (CEDAW)—and the voices of female sex workers within India. It categorises sex work into four legal models, namely, prohibition which criminalises all aspects of the sex trade, partial decriminalisation which criminalises only those who force women into sex work and those who trade in under-age sex workers, social control legalisation which decriminalises but regulates the sex trade with the aim of containing through (often punitive) restrictions, and finally pro-work which approaches sex work as valid employment by extending the legal and human rights of other workers to sex workers. The article places India’s current regulatory framework into the prohibition model and argues that the legal response to sex work that most closely accords with a women’s human rights approach is partial decriminalisation coupled with a pro-work model. Although the introduction of this model in India poses considerable challenges, it has the greatest capacity to first, reduce the crime and corruption that surrounds the sex trade; second, to enhance, promote and protect public health and third, provide appropriate legal and human rights protection to sex workers as international obligations require.

scholarly journals Criminalisation, Health, and Labour Rights Among Im/migrant Sex Workers Globally

2021 ◽  
pp. 153-171
Author(s):  
Bronwyn McBride ◽  
Trachje Janushev
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Health Access ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Labour Rights ◽  
Sti Testing ◽  
Gender Diverse ◽  
And Gender

AbstractThis chapter introduces the structural determinants that shape health and labour rights among im/migrant sex workers globally. It explores issues related to criminalisation, mandatory health testing, precarious immigration status, economic marginalisation, racialisation, racism and discrimination, language barriers, and gender. This chapter examines how these factors shape health access, health outcomes, and labour rights among im/migrant sex workers in diverse contexts. These issues were explored through a review of academic literature, which was complemented by community consultations that elucidate the lived experiences of gender-diverse im/migrant sex workers from Europe and across the globe. Findings illustrate how shifting sex work criminalisation, public health and immigration regulations (e.g. sex worker registration, mandatory HIV/STI testing), and policing practices impact im/migrant sex workers and shape the labour environments in which they work. The chapter subsequently presents recommendations on policy and programmatic approaches to enhance health access and labour rights among im/migrant sex workers. Finally, it concludes by highlighting the ways in which im/migrant sex workers resist social and structural exclusion, stigma, and ‘victim’ stereotypes, highlighting their tenacity and leadership in the fight to advance labour and human rights among im/migrants and sex workers worldwide.

scholarly journals The Plight of Female Cameroonian Migrant Sex Workers in N’Djamena, Chad: A Case of Intersectionality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sianga Mutola ◽  
Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta ◽  
Ngo Valery Ngo ◽  
Ogem Irene Otang ◽  
tabi-Chama James Tabenyang
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Female Sex Workers ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Legal Outcomes

AbstractIn most countries, sex-work is criminalized and frowned upon. This leads to human rights abuses, especially for migrant female sex workers. The burden is heavier on migrant female sex-workers whose gender and foreign citizenship intersect to produce a plethora of adverse health, social, and legal outcomes. This phenomenological study explores the intersectionality of individual factors leading to human rights abuses among migrant Cameroonian female sex workers in N’Djamena, Chad. Ten female sex workers and two key-informants were interviewed, and being a small sample, they gave detailed information about their experiences. The data was later analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants narrated experiences of social exclusion, exposure to diverse abuses, and health risks due to gender, immigrant status, and illegality of sex work. The experiences of female migrant sex workers, within contexts of sex work criminalization, are exacerbated by the intersectionality of these factors. Women endure several vulnerabilities in many African countries, more so when they have to survive on sex work as foreigners in a country where the act is illegal.

scholarly journals The economic consequences of decriminalizing sex work in Washington, DC

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Srsic ◽  
K Dubas-Jakóbczyk ◽  
E Kocot
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Sex Worker

Abstract Background Under repressive policies, sex workers are at disproportionate risk for violence, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections. The decriminalization of sex work between consenting adults provides increased social and health benefits to both sex workers and society at large. Proponents of decriminalization advocate for these added human rights; this is the first research that complements these arguments with a quantifiable economic impact of such a law and a model for future calculations. This research assesses the potential economic consequences of decriminalizing sex work in the District of Columbia (DC) in three areas: (1) income tax revenue, (2) criminal justice system savings, and (3) health sector savings (violence, HIV, gonorrhea, and herpes). Methods An economic model is developed and utilized based on a literature review and records from local and federal agencies. Results The decriminalization of sex work in DC will generate $5,191.61 per sex worker and $2.49 per client annually, plus an additional $20,118.17 in total criminal justice system savings a year. Per sex worker, $4,906.39 will be gained from income tax revenue, and $285.46 will be generated through health sector savings. Per client, decriminalization will generate $0.05, $2.28, and $0.16 from HIV, gonorrhea, and herpes respectively, or $8,311.67 annually after considering the total number of clients. Estimates are reported in 2019 US dollars. Conclusions The potential economic impact of decriminalizing sex work is widespread. In DC, this legislation should be implemented to not only promote the city's human rights but also economic growth. The presented model, in conjunction with a rights-based foundation, should urgently be used by advocates, sex workers, decision-makers, and other researchers. Key messages An economic analysis of a policy to decriminalize sex work in DC demonstrates its widespread economic impact across sectors. The economic model generated in this research should be utilized in other regions to strengthen human rights-based arguments in support of these policies.

scholarly journals How do Sex Workers Perceive their Working Identity? Case Studies in Egypt

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (Winter) ◽  
pp. 245-261
Author(s):  
Sara Abed
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
State Policies ◽  
State Control ◽  
The Public ◽  
Labour Rights

This study looks at Egypt’s sex workers’ perceptions of their working identity. It examines the different experiences and attitudes of sex workers by exploring the main features and dominant frames in the literature, and how it could be of relevance in the case of Egypt. Through conducting interviews with sex workers and other stakeholders, I argue that sex workers tend to perceive themselves as workers who should enjoy labour rights, except for those who consider religious guilt and shame as a barrier in being visible to the public. The decriminalising of sex work diminishes state control and discrimination over the lives of sex workers in Egypt. My findings demonstrate that there is a relationship between state policies to discipline sex workers and the control of women’s body.

scholarly journals An ethnographic exploration of factors that drive policing of street-based female sex workers in a U.S. setting -  identifying opportunities for intervention.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine HA Footer ◽  
Bradley E. Silberzahn ◽  
Sahnah Lim ◽  
Steven Huettner ◽  
Victor A. Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Female Sex Workers ◽  
Health Determinant ◽  
Health And Human Rights ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Police Practices

Abstract Background: Building on a broader sociological discourse around policing approaches towards vulnerable populations, increasing public health and human rights evidence points to policing practices as a key health determinant, particularly among street-based sex workers. Despite the importance of policing as a structural health determinant, few studies have sought to understand the factors that underlie and shape harmful policing practices towards sex workers. This study therefore aimed to explore the drivers for policing attitudes and practices towards street-based cisgender female sex workers.Methods: Drawing on ethnographic methods, 280 hours of observations with police patrol and 10 stakeholder interviews with senior police leadership in Baltimore City, USA were carried out to better understand the drivers for policing strategies towards cisgender female sex workers. Analysis was data- and theory-driven, drawing on the concepts of police culture and complementary criminological and sociological literature that aided exploration of the influence of the ecological and structural environment on policing practices.Results: Ecological factors at the structural (e.g., criminalization), organizational (e.g., violent crime control), community and individual level (e.g., stigmatizing attitudes) emerged as key to shaping individual police practices and attitudes towards cisgender female sex workers in this setting. Findings indicate senior police support for increased alignment with public health and human rights goals. However, the study highlights that interventions need to move beyond individual officer training and address the broader structural and organizational setting in which harmful police practices towards sex work operate. Conclusions: A more in-depth understanding of the circumstances that drive law enforcement approaches to street-based sex work is critical to the collaborative design of interventions with police in different settings. In considering public health-police partnerships to address the rights and health of sex worker populations in the U.S. and elsewhere, this study supports existing calls for decriminalization of sex work, supported by institutional and policy reforms, neighborhood-level dialogues that shift the cultural landscape around sex work within both the police and larger community, and innovative individual-level police trainings.

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