SWAN TV

Bulgaria: sex workers protest

"Godesses of Love" protest in Sofia.
Legalization of prostitution in the country. This was announced by a dozen prostitutes who gathered this afternoon on spontaneous protest in Sofia. They insist on a special law on prostitution, as they say in most Western countries. "

Source: http://bnt.bg

Bulgaria: Sex workers protest against police actions

SOFIA, August 31, 2011 - Sex worker in Sofia protest current situation with sex work and police attitudes. Below is the news report from the Ring Road (in Bulgaria).

Translation of text coverage at http://tv7.bg/bodilnik/news/900052.html :

Czech NGO "Roskos bez Rizika" performing at the International AIDS

Bliss without Risk, SWAN member from Czech Republic, drew public to the NSWP Networking Zone to see their fun performance. Bliss without Risk is known in their own country for involving youth, sex workers and homeless peoples into staging stories and musicals that reflect their lives. For 40 minutes this inspired team held attention of the Global Village visitors by performing short shows, dancing and singing in Czech.

To watch more click this article.

Sex Worker Rights Music Video! Scarlot Harlot and Courtney Trouble-Chinese

 Sex Worker Rights Music Video by
http://www.sexworerfest.com/Trouble
swfest@bayswan.org

The San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival premieres this sex worker anthem, Courtney Trouble's "The Burnout," a music video by Scarlot Harlot and Courtney Trouble in English, Chinese and Thai.
The makers wish to thank and acknowledge the sex worker activists around the world for their work and inspiration.

Also visit Sex Workers Present
from APNSW, to view many sex worker videos
including “Taking The Pledge”
from the Network of Sex Work Projects.

Cambodian Sex Workers March for their Rights

http://apnswdollhouse.wordpress.com, Cambodia
March 2010 – Recent pronouncements by the Prime Minister in Cambodia that sex work is an affront to traditional Cambodian culture and to the dignity of Cambodian women have led to more raids on bars and arrests of sex workers.

„A Right to Be”

A film about sex work in the Caribbean
Plri.org

January 2010 – A film from the Caribbean Treatment Action Group and the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition about the problems faced by sex workers in the Caribbean. There is a focus on migrant workers, HIV, abuse from the state, stigma and discrimination from the community and efforts to overcome them.
Part 1
Part 2

Macedonia: You Must Know About Me. Stop the violence against sex workers.

December 17 is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers and our featured video comes to you from Macedonia, where local NGO Healthy Options Projects Skopje (HOPS) partnered with WITNESS this year on a campaign to end violence, marginalization, and criminalization of sex workers.

In Macedonia, as throughout the world, sex workers are pushed to the margins of society by a combination of prejudice, discrimination, and violence. Yet, the fact that a person sells sexual services cannot be used as justification for the denial of their fundamental rights, to which all human beings are entitled.

No Exit: Stop trafficking, Decriminalise Sex Work

Through its association with USAID, MTV EXIT has placed itself in the middle of a battle waged by sex workers and garment workers for the right to work and the right to fare wages. Unfortunately, MTV EXIT through its concerts presented a message that potentially made the situation worse for Cambodian sex workers. By conflating prostitution with trafficking, prostitution is reduced to sex slavery and is painted as a degrading and abusive profession. Within this pattern of thought, prostitutes are not considered women with agency who have freely chosen their profession, but instead are considered victims in need of ‘saving’. Critics have pointed out that the MTV EXIT campaign will be seen by audiences as reinforcing the Cambodian government’s anti-trafficking law and agenda. Read full article Cambodia: MTV no EXIT campaign indirectly supports abusive anti-trafficking law.

Australia: Salvation Army apologizes to sex workers

May 23, Australia -- In a lead up to its major Fundraising campaign, the Salvation Army of New South Wales Australia, launched an offensive add on May 22nd 2009. It read: "To get Rick out of prostitution, we had to resort to smuggling. This is the door that saved his life. When Rick left a message on a computer screen inside our Oasis van we had to act fast. Disguised as a client, we picked him up, took him to the airport and flew him interstate to one of our rehab centres, miles away from the heroin and hustling…”

Sweden: “We want to save you. And if you don’t appreciate it, we will punish you!”

In this issue of SWAN News we present a video interview with a Swedish sex worker and activist Pye Jacobsson about the legislation around prostitution and its impact on sex workers’ lives in Sweden.