SWAN conducted an awareness raising photo flash mob at the AIDS 2014 conference in Melbourne, where participants of the conference were informed about the major police crackdown on sex workers in Tajikistan and their forced HIV testing. Along with learning about the situation in Tajikistan from the specifically prepared call for action (see below), participants posed with posters of support, demanding that forced HIV testing of sex workers in Tajikistan is stopped and that sex workers’ rights in Tajikistan are respected.

SWAN conducted an awareness raising photo flash mob at the AIDS 2014 conference in Melbourne, where participants of the conference were informed about the major police crackdown on sex workers in Tajikistan and their forced HIV testing. Along with learning about the situation in Tajikistan from the specifically prepared call for action (see below), participants posed with posters of support, demanding that forced HIV testing of sex workers in Tajikistan is stopped and that sex workers’ rights in Tajikistan are respected.

Call to stop forced HIV testing of sex workers in Tajikistan

Sex workers in Tajikistan are facing a major crackdown from the Tajik police since June 2014!

In addition to subjecting them to blackmailing and physical abuse, the police are also forcing HIV and other STI testing on the detainees, although it is illegal under Tajik law. Since January 2014 more than 1700 individual sex workers have been arrested, with more than 500 detained since June in the course of a national police campaign against «immoral crimes».

“People who are detained for immoral crimes or have venereal diseases – their names, photos and fingerprints will be entered to a special electronic database,” the BBC’s Tajik Service quoted the Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda as saying on June 5.

Although sex workers organizations and activists in the country have openly protested the crackdown, the Tajik police assert that the sex workers’ rights are not violated. “To test their health is not only for their own benefit, but also to benefit the community, because they might infect other people,” said Jaloliddin Sadriddinov, the Tajik Interior Ministry’s Spokesman.

Sex workers are an extremely marginalized group in Tajik society, where different aspects of sex work are considered illegal. Pimping, brothel-keeping and involvement of others into sex work are penalized under the Criminal Code. The Administrative Code penalizes individual involved in sex work.

Sex workers and their allies from Eastern Europe and Central Asia are not able to participate in AIDS 2014, so we address all activists at this conference to speak on our behalf.

We call YOU to:

• Bring this issue to the attention of UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNDP, UN family on global level, on regional level (Eastern Europe and Central Asia) and national level (Tajikistan) with an urge for them to continue explicitly expressing their support of local sex workers’ rights groups and civil society organizations, and to oppose harmful police practices and condemn forced and STI and HIV testing.

• Use this case as an example of stigmatization of sex work and HIV and harmful practices by a GFATM recipient country in your presentations, discussions and dialogues at this conference.

• Oppose actively and openly involvement of police around issues of sexual and reproductive health and HIV.

• Follow the Sex Worker Consensus Statement from the AIDS 2014 sex worker pre-conference

• Express your solidarity with the Tajik sex workers under police crackdown today.