By Guest Writer of Great Indaba.com Linda, who asked that her last name not be used, is a provincial media co-ordinator of Sisonke, the South African sex worker movement. She was one of a long list of speakers at South Africa's first ever, national symposium on sex work held in Johannesburg recently, which brought together officials from the South African…
By Regan Thaw, of Eyewitness News CAPE TOWN - The Women's Legal Centre on Tuesday said draft legislation relating to torture should protect sex workers, regardless of the fact that their profession is illegal. Parliament’s justice portfolio committee heard submissions from civil society groups on the Prevention and Combating of Torture of Persons Bill. The proposed legislation has not been…
By Ayanda Mkhwanazi, Health-e Seven out of every ten sex workers have been abused by police officials. A survey done by the Women’s Legal Centre, shows that sex workers report having been threatened with arrest or forced to sleep with police officials in exchange for their freedom. “We are being harassed by the police and they are using by-laws on…
The global Sex Workers Freedom Festival in Kolkata that started on July 22nd is going to wind up today. The festival is being jointly hosted by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (GNSWP) and the city-based Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) and All India Network of Sex Workers (AINSW). A demand for basic human rights and safe sex practices…
By Salimah Ebrahim, Reuters As the world's largest AIDS conference kicks off in the United States for the first time in 22 years, activists want to ensure the voice of sex workers is not silenced in the discussion of how to overcome the global epidemic. As many as 20,000 people -- including top scientists, politicians and celebrities -- are expected…
New research from six countries found that stop-and-search practices by the police are making sex workers less likely to carry condoms, said the Open Society Foundations today. The report, Criminalizing Condoms, surveyed sex workers in Kenya, Namibia, Russia, South Africa, the United States, and Zimbabwe and found that police practices made it more likely that sex workers would have unprotected…
