Shahnaz Islamova of Tais Plus shares how sex workers are trying to stay safe in the midst of a revolution in Kyrgyzstan that has turned violent.

Empower Foundation, Thailand
May 31st 2010
Political theory seems a long way away from our daily lives as working women supporting our families. We respect human rights and support equality in society. We do not agree with violence. In April 2010, protestors and soldiers came into our streets, our community and our workplaces.

What is the situation for girls from Uzbekistan or other countries in Kazakhstan ?
Recently, the migrant girls have the most problems. Let’s say their documents are OK. But the police take them to the police station and say they have to check their documents and then take the documents and lock the girls up. In a recent case in July in Taldykorgan, the police held the girls for six days, while they “checked” their documents. For six days, the girls were raped, beaten. They gave them nothing to eat. They were treated horribly while they were imprisoned. At the very end, they give their documents back and said “Your documents are fine, you can go.”

Interview with Nata from Ukraine,who is involved in Lega-life,  the Ukrainian National Network of Sex Workers about her experiences of working in Moscow, Russia as a migrant sex worker. 

“People don’t go into the hospitals and beat up the doctors for doing their job !”

This interview with Victoriya, a sex worker from Kazakhstan from June 2008, provides a unique perspective on the local sex work situation. She touches on sex workers’ relationship wit the police, the changing nature of the profession and the little-discussed phenomena of heterosexual male sex workers selling sex to women. While the interview is frank and honest, she seems optimistic and has some words of encouragement for her fellow sex workers.

“My message to all the sex workers who read SWAN News is: It doesn’t matter what kind of sex you are having, the most important is for it to be safe !”

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.

Cambodian Sex Worker groups and the APNSW (Asian Pacific Network of Sex Workers) are figthing against for two very abusive systems. The first problem is there are many violations against their 100% Condom Use program. The second problem is relatively new: Cambodia has just recently introduced a new anti-trafficking law which makes all sex work illegal, and where sex workers can be sent for mandatory rehabilitation.
The following film shows the human rights abuses in both approaches.
Watch more videos made by sex workers at SEXWORKERSPRESENT. This ongoing video advocacy project became possible with the support of Open Society Institute and in association with WITNESS Video Advocacy Institute.

STAR, Macedonian sex workers organization, issued on December 17 the third issue of the newsletter From us to Us. Supported by HOPS, SWAN member from Macedonia, the newsletter provides sex workers with possibility to speak up about fun, health, safety and human rights.

Our Lives Matter: Sex Workers Unite for Health and Rights is a report by Anna-Louise Crago, published in August 2008 by the Open Society Institute.  It highlights the creative ways in which sex workers in eight countries have organized to defend their human rights and health. Among the featured groups are two SWAN members. In this issue we are reprinting the chapter featuring Humanitarian Action from Sankt Petersburg, Russia.