TAG: sex work

Decriminalise sex work to help control Aids pandemic, scientists demand

Prostitutes are subject to repression, violence and abuse – even at the hands of law enforcement, research shows Prof Chris Beyrer speaks at the International Aids Conference. Photograph: Graham Denholm/Getty ImagesSex work must be decriminalised if the world is to stand a chance of controlling the Aids pandemic, say scientists contributing to a series of […]

The whole (legal) truth: Bill C-36 will have far-reaching implications for Canadian Communities

Sex workers organizations from Canada are mobilizing supports to battle against a bill aimed at criminalizing prostitution and a wide range of activities related to it. Click here to read Reckless Endangerment, a collaborative public education effort intended to highlight the danger of the bill.

ABIA disseminates a statement repudiating police action against sex workers in Niterói (RJ)

The Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association vehemently repudiates the grave human rights violations committed on May 23rd by civil police against more than 200 sex workers and residents in a building in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro. Sex workers reported that during the invasion, conducted by police without a warrant, violations including robbery, assault, and rape occurred, […]

In-Depth Report Details Economics of Sex Trade

Read NY Times article about some of the findings of a landmark government-sponsored report on the size and structure of the sex economy in USA, including massage parlors, brothels and expensive escort services. The study also found that four in five pimps elect not to deal drugs and that little money trades hands in the […]

Red Lights Dim in China’s Sin City

Read New York Times article about China’s harshest anti-vice campaign in years and its efects on the economy of Dongguan, a southern city of more than eight million people. Click here.

China’s government launches crackdown on prostitution

In mid February, the Chinese government launched a policy offensive against activities deemed as vices such pornography and prostitution. The operation took place in the city of Dongguan and had the support of the official media, which had been broadcasting news on the sex trade in the region for some days before the operation began. […]

World Cup 2014: is Brazil’s sex industry crackdown a threat to human rights?

Read The Guardian’s article about Brazilian authorities attempts to sanitise the country’s image by repressing sex-related businesses. Click here.

Canada’s Anti-Prostitution Laws Struck Down By Supreme Court

Canada’s highest court struck down the country’s prostitution laws that punish keeping a brothel, living on the avails of prostitution and street soliciting. According to the decision, the Parliament has now one year to set a new legislation. Click here to learn more.

France’s compromising position: Why a new law to criminalise punters rather than prostitutes is inflaming French passions

France’s Parliament approved a law that punishes clients who buy sexual services from prostitutes. SPW is following the debate. The case has turned a big issue among French society, according to “The Independent”. Read here. “Libération” is also following the case with a blog created specifically to discuss it. Here (In French). Click here to […]

The condom conundrum: how to persuade Africa’s prostitutes to practice safe sex

Article published on “The Indenpend”, signed by Jeremy Laurance, presents the elaborate strategies adopted to persuade sex workers to practise safe sex through African countries. Click here.

Before Global Games, Rio Is Fighting to Dim Red Light

In article, New York Times discusses aspects of Rio de Janeiro policy on the organization of Olympic Games: brothles are being captured by an atmosphere of moral panic. Read more.

Global and regional issues highlighted by SPW on October

In October 2013 our main themes were the following: On October 10, activist Gabriela Leite, who devoted her life to fight for the rights of prostitutes, has left us. The death of Gabriela has reverberated in Brazil and worldwide because her life trajectory and historical leadership but also because how the claims she has raised […]