International
Independent: Jailing of migrant sex workers in Ireland decried as ‘completely unjust’
‘Convictions for sex work further limit people’s ability to exit the industry and find alternative means of employment,’ says sex worker Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent @mayaoppenheim The jailing of two migrant sex workers in Ireland has been condemned by others in the industry as “horrible” and “completely unjust”. Adrina Podaru, 25, and Ana Tomascu, 20, were living in Newbridge, Kildare, […]
The Guardian: A change in Irish law was meant to help sex workers. So why are they being jailed?
Lobbyists say making payment for sex illegal targets punters. But in fact it makes workers’ bodies into crime scenes @frankiemullin Paying for sex has been illegal in Ireland for two years. At the time of the law’s introduction, proponents insisted that the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, a version of “end demand” or “Nordic […]
Independent: Sex work to be decriminalised in Mexico City in bid to cut trafficking
‘Exercising sexuality in our country is still a taboo topic that few of us dare to talk about’Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent @mayaoppenheim Lawmakers in Mexico City’s congress on Friday voted 38-0, with eight abstentions, in favour of a bill to remove a line in the civic culture law which said prostitutes and their clients can be […]
Independent: Sex workers storm New York protest against decriminalisation of prostitution
‘Nothing about us without us”Sex workers have had a struggle to be listened to. For too long policy and law on prostitution has been dealt with without sex workers’Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent Two sex workers stormed a demonstration by women opposed to a bill which would decriminalise sex work in New York.Lawmakers have announced plans to introduce a piece […]
Morning Star: Sex workers across the world are demanding decriminalisation
In 1975 sex workers in France and Switzerland surprised everyone by going on strike against repression — just like “real workers.”The strikes started with the occupation of a church in Lyon and a banner saying: “Our children don’t want their mothers in prison.”They complained bitterly about police arresting and fining them on the spot, and […]
STRASS (France) – Conservative Party Human Rights Commission Inquiry into the Reform of Prostitution Law
STRASS – Syndicat du Travail Sexuel (France)c/o Act Up-Paris, 8 rue des Dunes, 75019 PARIScontact@strass-syndicat.orgwww.strass-syndicat.orgWednesday, May the 16th, 2018To the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission,Dear Madam,STRASS is France sex workers’ trade union with more than 500 sex workers members all over France from all backgrounds. We are also in contact with thousands of colleagues through […]
Oakland North: International support groups discuss sex workers’ rights in Oakland
By Saemmool Lee Thanta Laovilwanyakul(middle) talks about her experience as a sex worker at the “Public Meeting with Empower.” Empower Foundation set a table that displayed T-shirts and books that represent their their idea at the public meeting On Monday evening, Thanta Laovilwanyakul, a sex worker from Thailand, sat in front of a stage at Omni […]
The Guardian: Letter (unpublished) – response to allegations against Oxfam and other NGOs in Haiti
(The Guardian, unpublished).Dear Madam/Sir,Like our sisters in Haiti (‘Aid staff would pay more’: sex workers in Haiti speak out), sex workers who have survived disasters and face the calamity of criminalisation every day, must start with our need to support ourselves and our families. Women from Empower, a sex workers collective in Thailand, were in […]