DOCSLIB.ORG

Fostering Enabling Legal and Policy Environments to Protect the Health and Human Rights of Sex Workers

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Fostering Enabling Legal and Policy Environments to Protect the Health and Human Rights of Sex Workers Fostering Enabling Legal and Policy Environments to Protect the Health and Human Rights of Sex Workers Johannesburg, South Africa June 22-24, 2006 Report of a meeting co-sponsored by the Sexual Health and Rights Project & Law and Health Initiative Fostering Enabling Legal and Policy Environments to Protect the Health and Human Rights of Sex Workers Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) Law and Health Initiative (LAHI) June 2006 The opinions expressed in this document reflect discussions held among a diverse group of advocates from around the world and do not necessarily reflect the views of OSI. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................3 PREFACE..............................................................................................................................4 NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................7 DISCUSSIONS, DEBATES AND INSIGHTS.....................................................................7 A. LESSONS FROM SEX WORKER ORGANIZING..................................................... 7 B. LAW AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS AT THE COUNTRY LEVEL......................... 8 C. MOBILIZING HUMAN RIGHTS TOOLS AND STANDARDS................................ 10 D. HARM REDUCTION, HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS ........................................ 12 E. ISSUES IN FOCUS....................................................................................................... 13 F. CREATIVE, ETHICAL AND POWERFUL ADVOCACY ......................................... 15 CREATING THE SPACES AND GATHERING THE RESOURCE TO ACT...................16 A. BEST PRACTICES ...................................................................................................... 16 B. CAPACITY BUILDING MATERIALS ....................................................................... 17 C. RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS.................................................................................... 17 D. CONVENINGS AND SUPPORT FOR ALLIANCE BUILDING ............................... 18 APPENDIX A: PANEL SUMMARIES..............................................................................19 APPENDIX B: MEETING CONCEPT PAPER .................................................................26 APPENDIX C: SEX WORK LAW AND POLICY CASE STUDIES...............................31 APPENDIX D: HARM REDUCTION, HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS ....................50 APPENDIX E: SEX WORK LAW AND POLICY FRAMEWORK CHART ..................56 APPENDIX F: SUGGESTED AREAS FOR RESEARCH................................................60 APPENDIX G: MEETING AGENDA................................................................................61 APPENDIX H: PANELIST BIOGRAPHIES .....................................................................67 APPENDIX I: PROGRAM ORGANIZERS.......................................................................78 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This meeting was jointly organized by the Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) and the Law and Health Initiative (LAHI) of the Open Society Institute. Many thanks are due to Zohra Dawood, Executive Director of the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) and her staff, as well as to Aiste Slabokaite of the Open Society Fund- Lithuania and Terry Robinson of OSF-SA whose logistical support made the meeting possible. Rachel Thomas, Project Associate for SHARP, provided overall support for the meeting. This report was written by Alice M. Miller, Law and Health Advisor to SHARP, based on minutes taken at the meeting by Stephen Heynes, with substantial contributions from SHARP Director Sue Simon and LAHI Director Jonathan Cohen, and comments from meeting participants Joanne Csete, Catherine Healy, Katarina Jiresova, Noluthando Ntlokwana, Claire Thiboutot and Petra Timmerman. The coordinating author of the case studies (Appendix B) and the primary author of the analysis on harm reduction, health, and human rights (Appendix C) was Penelope Saunders, PhD. Substantial research support for the meeting materials was provided by Jennifer Friedman, MSW/MPH. Most important to the content of this report is the work, ideas, voices, and passion of the more than thirty participants at the meeting, who brought their experiences and insights from around the world. These participants reflect at least four key groups: sex workers, service providers, legal and policy experts, and human rights activists. Participants contributed their experience and expertise with transgender, lesbian, gay, women’s rights, and HIV/AIDS issues from research, advocacy, and policy perspectives. We thank them for their commitment and hope this report contributes to the work they and others do to protect and ensure the rights, health, and dignity of the millions of people working in sex work around the world. Contact: Sexual Health and Rights Project or Law and Health Initiative Open Society Institute 400 W. 59th St. New York, NY 10036 212-548-0600 www.soros.org/initiatives/health/focus/sharp Jonathan Cohen, Project Director, LAHI, [email protected] Sue Simon, Project Director, SHARP, [email protected] Rachel Thomas, Project Associate, SHARP, [email protected] 3 PREFACE This report synthesizes 2.5 days of lively presentations and discussions at a meeting organized on 22-24 June 2006 in Johannesburg, South Africa by the Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) and Law and Health Initiative (LAHI) of the Open Society Institute (OSI). The meeting brought together sex workers, service providers, human rights advocates, researchers, and other constituencies to discuss how legal and regulatory environments affect sex workers’ health and human rights. The meeting was organized to address the growing backlash against approaches to sex work that focus on the dignity and human rights of sex workers. Many countries in recent years have moved to toughen anti-prostitution laws, largely in response to a supposed link between sex work and transnational trafficking in human beings. The current attack on rights and empowerment of sex workers ranges from older, failed attempts to eliminate sex work through criminal penalties, rescue and the “rehabilitation” of sex workers to the undermining of strategies that aim to empower sex workers to protect their health and human rights. Some countries have discouraged or de-funded HIV-prevention strategies that seek to empower sex workers to use condoms and otherwise protect their health and rights. But there is little evidence-based research regarding the effect of anti-prostitution laws as a means of protecting women’s rights and prevent HIV. There is even less evidence regarding the impact of non-criminal laws, such as those governing immigration, employment, taxation, public health, and child custody, on the health and human rights of sex workers, yet repressive laws and policies have been developed in all of these arenas. One of the aims of this meeting was to describe research gaps in these areas in order to guide the eventual development of a research agenda to address these issues. The meeting was also motivated by the desire to build connections between sex worker groups and among allies to advocate on their behalf. Sex workers’ issues are often misunderstood by those who do not share their experience, and even within ‘progressive’ movements, sex workers face discrimination. While various local, regional, and international sex worker groups have been building their expertise in law, health and human rights issues, their work does not always reach other actors, often because of limited resources for distribution. In this context, the objectives of the Johannesburg meeting were: 1. To reach a common understanding of the key laws and regulations governing prostitution and sex work globally, and to map, through sharing on-the-ground knowledge and experience, the elements of various regimes of official control and regulation of sex work and prostitution and to assess how they impact sex workers’ health and rights; 2. To formulate the core principles of various approaches to sex work such as “public health,” “human rights,” and “harm reduction” approaches, and to better understand how these approaches work in practice; 3. To foster dialogue both within and among various sex worker-related interest groups, with an eye to reducing barriers and expanding areas of common principles and goals; and 4. To develop connections from the meeting as part of building a global network of advocates with expertise on sex worker’s health and human rights that will facilitate 4 continued dialogue, better and more responsive research, and joint advocacy toward more rights-promoting policy development. Summary highlights from each meeting presentation are attached as Appendix A. This report is not an attempt to track all the discussions or reflect all viewpoints presented at the meeting. Instead, we highlight specific issues in the debates and areas of substantial agreement for action and advocacy. The report also seeks to make visible the complexity and diversity of viewpoints among participants. Ignoring differences can lead to ineffective and even harmful interventions and lost opportunities for policy change. A commitment to the health and human rights of sex workers requires not only good laws, policies, and programs, but also a willingness to listen
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS About the Sex Industry in Thailand Is prostitution legal in Thailand? Prostitution is NOT legal in Thailand. However, due to the billions of dollars it feeds into the country’s tourism industry, prostitution is being considered for legalization. Where do women in prostitution in Thailand come from? The majority of Thai women migrating to Bangkok to work in prostitution are from rice farming areas in Northeast Thailand. The majority of women we see being trafficked into Thailand from other countries are coming from Eastern Europe, Africa, and South America. How old are most of the women? The age range of Thai women working in the bars is between 17 and 50 years old. The average age is around 27. Although the legal age to work in a bar is 18, many girls start at 17. Younger women also work on the streets or in other venues. What factors push Thai women to enter the sex industry? A number of factors may push a woman in Thailand to enter the sex industry. ● Culture: In Thailand, a son’s duty is to “make merit” for his parents’ next life by serving time as a monk. By contrast, once a daughter is “of age,” she is culturally obligated to care for her parents. When a young woman’s marriage dissolves—usually due to adultery, alcohol, and domestic violence—there is no longer enough support by the husband for a woman to support her parents or her own children. As a result, when the opportunity to work in the city arises, she is often relieved to be able to meet her financial obligations through that work, no matter the sacrifice.
    [Show full text]
  • Stakeholders Submission on Human Trafficking to OHCHR for UPR on November 23, 2010
    Mongolia - Stakeholders Submission on Human Trafficking to OHCHR for UPR on November 23, 2010 1. In prepration for the UPR submission by stakeholders, 8 NGOs that are actively involved in combating human trafficking have gathered 3 times at the Human Rights and Development Center to finalize the draft of the present report that was reviewed at two meetings assembling representatives of 40 NGOs. The present report was completed by the the Human Security Policy Studies Centre (hereinafter to be referred to as “HSPSC”). 2. The shift of Mongolia from a one party system with a centralized economy to a democratic market oriented society in 1990 had induced the crime of trafficking in persons, specifically of young girls and women. Though democracy had opened to Mongolian citizens many opportunities for enjoying human rights and freedoms such as the right to study and work abroad it also had triggered negative trends and instigated new types of crime. 3. Unemployment and poverty/low income caused by the transition period that started in 1990 had become the main reason for instigating human trafficking within and out of the country, specifically of women and children. According to official records only 1 case of human trafficking was recorded in 2001. In 2008 300 human trafficking cases were recorded and investigated.1 However we assume that these statistics do not correspond to the reality. 4. The forms of human trafficking in Mongolia are as follows: a. Sexual exploitation b. Labor exploitation c. Fraudulent marriage 5. Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking: Mostly young girls and women are vulnerable to cases of sexual exploitation.
    [Show full text]
  • Emancipating Modern Slaves: the Challenges of Combating the Sex
    Union College Union | Digital Works Honors Theses Student Work 6-2013 Emancipating Modern Slaves: The hC allenges of Combating the Sex Trade Rachel Mann Union College - Schenectady, NY Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Mann, Rachel, "Emancipating Modern Slaves: The hC allenges of Combating the Sex Trade" (2013). Honors Theses. 700. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/700 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union | Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union | Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EMANCIPATING MODERN SLAVES: THE CHALLENGES OF COMBATING THE SEX TRADE By Rachel J. Mann * * * * * * * * * Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Honors in the Department of Political Science UNION COLLEGE June, 2013 ABSTRACT MANN, RACHEL Emancipating Modern Slaves: The Challenges of Combating the Sex Trade, June 2013 ADVISOR: Thomas Lobe The trafficking and enslavement of women and children for sexual exploitation affects millions of victims in every region of the world. Sex trafficking operates as a business, where women are treated as commodities within a global market for sex. Traffickers profit from a supply of vulnerable women, international demand for sex slavery, and a viable means of transporting victims. Globalization and the expansion of free market capitalism have increased these factors, leading to a dramatic increase in sex trafficking. Globalization has also brought new dimensions to the fight against sex trafficking.
    [Show full text]
  • Sex Workers, Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation in Ethiopia
    EVIDENCE REPORT No 80 IDSSexuality, Poverty and Law Sex Workers, Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation in Ethiopia Cheryl Overs June 2014 The IDS programme on Strengthening Evidence-based Policy works across seven key themes. Each theme works with partner institutions to co-construct policy-relevant knowledge and engage in policy-influencing processes. This material has been developed under the Sexuality, Poverty and Law theme. The material has been funded by UK aid from the UK Government, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies. AG Level 2 Output ID: 232 SEX WORKERS, EMPOWERMENT AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN ETHIOPIA Cheryl Overs June 2014 This is an Open Access publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are clearly credited. First published by the Institute of Development Studies in June 2014 © Institute of Development Studies 2014 IDS is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (No. 877338). Contents Abbreviations and terms 3 Acknowledgements 3 Executive summary 4 1 The global context: poverty and sex work 6 2 The Ethiopian context 9 2.1 Economics and policies 9 2.2 Ethiopia’s legal system 10 2.3 HIV and AIDS 11 2.4 Civil society 11 3 Case study methodology 13 3.1 Limitations 13 4 Sex work in Ethiopia 15 4.1 Types of sex work 15 4.2 Economic policy and programmes for sex workers 15 4.2.1 Traditional associations
    [Show full text]
  • Sex Work and Gender Equality, NSWP
    POLICY BRIEF Sex Work and Gender Equality Global Network of Sex Work Projects 1 Sex Work and Gender Equality Introduction This policy brief highlights the linkages between sex workers’ rights and gender equality. It argues the women’s movement must meaningfully include sex workers as partners. It advocates for a feminism that recognises sex workers’ rights as human rights and highlights shared areas of work under an international human rights framework. Ultimately, there can be no gender equality if sex workers’ human rights are not fully recognised and protected. Sex workers’ rights activists, feminist allies and human rights advocates have long held that the Ultimately, there can be no agency of sex workers must be recognised and gender equality if sex workers’ protected, that all aspects of sex work should be decriminalised, and that sex work should be human rights are not fully recognised as work and regulated under existing recognised and protected. labour frameworks. Given that the majority of sex workers are women and many come from LGBT communities, protecting sex workers’ rights is imperative to achieving gender equality as defined under The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).1 Sex workers and their allies recognise that the discrimination and violence sex workers face are a direct result of the criminalisation of their work and clients, and that structural inequality, such as the feminisation of poverty, gender- and sexual identity-based discrimination, casualisation of labour, and restrictive migration laws, are responsible for reproducing harmful conditions within the sex industry.2 These same factors fuel labour migration and human trafficking, which are distinct from each other and from sex work.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Prostitution in Thailand
    Child prostitution in Thailand The state as a barrier to its effective elimination Candidate: Ornella Barros Submission deadline: 15/05/2014 Number of words: 19.896 Supervisor: Else Leona McClimans, Stener Ekern. Acknowledgments I would like to extend my gratitude to Else Leona McClimans for her guidance and support along the writing process of this thesis. Her expertise and interest in the topic was a great inspiration from the very beginning. I would also thank Stener Ekern for his invaluable and constructive feedback in the last phase of the document. The reality of such a sensitive issue could not have been described without the perspectives from the inside. For this reason, I am so grateful with the organizations ECPAT Interna- tional, ECPAT Foundation, Plan International Thailand Foundation, and Childline for their outstanding will to contribute and being part of the study. This experience would not have been as enriching without the inspiration and professional background provided by my work with Gestores de Paz. Their leadership and commitment towards the construction of a better world for children has its traces in this study. I do ap- preciate the opportunity I had to be part of such a valuable work. A heartfelt gratitude goes to my parents Matilde and Oscar for believing in me, and for being my best motivation. Special thanks to my sister Oriana for her unconditional support every time I needed it; and Nicolas, for being my family during these two years. To every single person that has been part of this awesome journey from beginning to end, my grati- tude and love.
    [Show full text]
  • A Human Rights-Based Commentary on UNAIDS Guidance Note: HIV and Sex Work (April 2007)
    A Human Rights-based Commentary on UNAIDS Guidance Note: HIV and Sex Work (April 2007) September 2007 Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network 600-1240 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario M5R 2A7 Canada +1 416 595-1666 www.aidslaw.ca Executive summary The April 2007 UNAIDS Guidance Note: HIV and Sex Work (“the Guidance Note”) is inconsistent with previous UN statements on the central importance of respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of sex workers in programs and policies related to sex work and HIV. The Guidance Note fails to consider seriously the precarious human rights situation of sex workers, and the way abusive and violent policing and ill-conceived national laws undermine sex workers’ rights. It also fails to discuss the human rights of sex workers as workers, including their right to work, their right to a livelihood of their choosing, and their right to workplace safety. The Guidance Note implicitly rejects UNAIDS’ earlier emphasis on improving the situation of sex workers by empowering them to take control of their work conditions, instead emphasizing alternative livelihoods (but without offering any real-life examples of successful alternative livelihood programs, or discussing the human rights pitfalls of these approaches). The Guidance Note is generally weak on practical measures that should be implemented broadly to ensure universal access among sex workers to comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment services, including sustained access to condoms, lubricant, HIV information and peer education. The document’s focus on reduction of demand for sex work as an HIV prevention strategy is misguided. Criminalizing or otherwise repressing the purchase of sexual services can increase the risks of HIV for sex workers by driving sex work underground and limiting the choice of working conditions and the choice of clients.
    [Show full text]
  • Sex Work and the Law in Asia and the Pacific — UNDP
    SEX WORK AND THE LAW IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC SEX WORK AND THE LAW IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC THE AND ASIA IN LAW THE AND WORK SEX Empowered lives. Resilient nations. United Nations Development Programme UNDP Asia-Paci c Regional Centre United Nations Service Building, 3rd Floor Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand Email: [email protected] Tel: +66 (0)2 304-9100 Fax: +66 (0)2 280-2700 Web: http://asia-paci c.undp.org/ October 2012 Empowered lives. Resilient nations. The information contained in this report is drawn from multiple sources including consultation responses, an extensive literature review and expert inputs. While every effort has been taken to ensure accuracy at the time of publication, errors or omissions may have occurred. Laws, policies and law enforcement practices are constantly changing. It is hoped that the report will provide a baseline of information, to inform more detailed efforts at country level to build an accurate and complete evidence base to inform efforts to address the health and human rights of sex workers. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations, including UNDP, or UN Member States. UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. Copyright © UNDP 2012 ISBN: 978-974-680-343-4 United Nations Development Programme UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre United Nations Service Building, 3rd Floor Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand Email: [email protected] Tel: +66 (0)2 304-9100 Fax: +66 (0)2 280-2700 Web: http://asia-pacific.undp.org/ Design: Ian Mungall/UNDP.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Strengthening for Female Sex Workers: a Review of the Literature
    Economic Strengthening for Female Sex Workers: A Review of the Literature Economic Strengthening for Female Sex Workers: A Review of the Literature May 2014 Whitney Moret ASPIRES, FHI 360 This report was produced under United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-LA-13- 00001. The contents are the responsibility of FHI 360 and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. 1 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 The Literature on the Lives and Needs of Sex Workers ............................................................. 4 The State of the Research ..................................................................................................... 4 Themes in the Literature ........................................................................................................ 7 Characteristics of FSWs ..................................................................................................... 7 Health Needs ..................................................................................................................... 8 Economic Lives .................................................................................................................. 8 Gender Inequality and Stigma ............................................................................................ 9 Approaches to HIV-Prevention Interventions for Female
    [Show full text]
  • Sex Workers and Cultural Policy: Mapping the Issues and Actors in Thailand
    155 Sex Workers and Cultural Policy: Mapping the Issues and Actors in Thailand J.P. Singh Georgetown University Shilpa A. Hart United States Peace Corps Abstract This article deals with the deeply controversial side of cultural tourism in mapping the position of the sex industry. In doing so, it places sex tourism in two epistemic contexts: one context expands the notion of cultural policies, the other notes the implicit and explicit origins and effects of cultural policies affecting sex work, although these positions are not mutually exclusive. Sex tourism, we argue, poses a particular challenge to the understandings embedded in these contexts. The sex industry points us to the limits of cultural policies, both in terms of expanding the scope of cultural industries and also in documenting their effects. So far, while we expand the list of cultural industries, the sex industry remains as the industry that must not speak its name. Officials do not want to name it; neither do they do much to stop it. Naming and mapping sex tourism is then a useful place to start. For empirical substantiation, Thailand is our case study. We document the cultural and economic importance of sex work. In doing so, we also remain sensitive to the context of racism, stigma, trafficking, and HIV/AIDS issues that intersect sex work. KEY WORDS: cultural policy, sex workers, trafficking, tourism, Thailand Introduction Globalization—or the interconnectedness of people, ideas, and products—can no longer be compartmentalized into economic, political, and cultural spheres. Just as we ascertain the consequences of globalization, we are reminded that it impacts just about every sphere of human activity.
    [Show full text]
  • Profiting from Abuse
    profiting from abuse An investigation into the sexual exploitation of our children Copyright © The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New York, 2001 The opinions expressed in these pieces do not necessarily reflect the policies or the views of UNICEF. Throughout this publication, the names of children have been changed to protect their identity. Permission to reproduce any part of this publication is required. Please contact the Editorial and Publications Section, Division of Communication, UNICEF New York (3 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA, Tel: 212-326-7513; Fax: 212-303-7985; E-mail: [email protected]). Note: All dollars are US dollars. Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................ii by Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director Introduction: Tales of betrayal, cruelty and greed ..............................................1 Getting our act together: A President’s campaign against the sexual exploitation of children ............................................................................4 by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Philippines Bought and sold 12 times (from Nigeria to Italy)................................................8 by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin Trafficking: Legislative responses ......................................................................12 by Pamela Shifman and Ken Franzblau of Equality Now Albania’s trafficked children: Begging for a better life ......................................18 A
    [Show full text]
  • A Novel / Women's Rights and Prostitution in Thailand: an Exegesis
    Welcome A Novel and Women’s Rights and Prostitution in Thailand An Exegesis Dr Lisa Margaret Lines BA, Hon History, Hon Creative Writing Grad Cert Lang, PhD Soc Sci Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Creative Writing Department of English and Creative Writing School of Humanities The University of Adelaide September 2013 Contents Contents ....................................................................................................................... ii Statement of Originality .............................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... v Abstract ....................................................................................................................... vi Welcome: A Novel ....................................................................................................... 1 Women’s Rights and Prostitution: An Exegesis ...................................................... 261 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 261 The Story behind the Novel ................................................................................. 261 Exegesis Structure ................................................................................................ 265 Chapter 2: Prostitution in Thailand .........................................................................
    [Show full text]