SWOP USA is also updating its 17 December website as news comes in about 17 December events. Some highlights to date:
Events are planned in 13 cities across the USA -
SWOP Chicago is hosting a community forum entitled "Sex Workers Speak Out: The Truth About The Negative Effects of Anti-Prostitution Laws". Sex Workers and community leaders will gather for an open discussion on the long term effects of End Demand and enforcement of prostitution laws in Chicago. The evening will close with a video screening and candlelight vigil in remembrance of sex worker victims of violence in the past year.
A coalition of organisations in New York, NY are gathering for a vigil and community speak out.
Communities are holding marches, vigils, talks and performances.
In Canada people will be gathering in 6 cities, including Halifax, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Kingston.
Visit the SWOP USA website for more details
Asia-PacificAPNSW re-launches Bad Rehab to highlight the harms committed by the "rescue industry".
Somaly Uh Uh- Extended remix of Bad Rehab from APNSW Films on Vimeo.
Extended remix of Bad Rehab. A song and animated video about the real issues for sex workers who are forced into rehabilitation centres in South East Asia- and the anti-trafficking "rescue industry" that has sprung up and campaigns for laws and systems that restrict sex workers and promote further violence against them
Kenya
BHESP & KESWA Press Release
International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers
Nairobi, Kenya, December 13, 2010
On Friday, December 17, from 9:00am-5:00pm, the Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Program
(BHESP), in collaboration with the Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA) and other local women’s rights
and human rights organizations, will commemorate International Day to End Violence against Sex
Workers. The gathering in Nairobi will include a silent public procession, starting at Koinange Street,
and ending at the Sarakasi Dome, in Ngara, where the rest of the programme will be held. The event
will include: a session to share the findings of recent research done on sex worker rights in Kenya;
testimonies by sex workers who have experienced violence; edutainment in the form of theatre, music,
dance, and spoken word; short speeches by various key human rights defenders; and a candle-light vigil
to remember sex workers in Kenya who have lost their lives in the line of duty. All events are free and
open to the press. The dress code for this day will be red (sex worker rights) and black (Africa).
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers aims to raise awareness of the violence and
abuse perpetrated on sex workers, while remembering those who have been its victims. The goal is to
see a global society where sex workers’ safety and basic human rights are protected. While this day is
currently marked by over 100 cities around the world, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will be marking this
day for the first time this year.
Nairobi’s celebration will feature several prominent speakers from various organizations, touching on
such related topics as human rights, sexual and reproductive health, security, law & policy reform, and
the impact of the new Constitution on Kenya’s laws pertaining to sex work and human rights.
When asked to comment on her reasons for organizing this event, Dorothy Ogutu, a sex worker activist,
said:
As the saying goes, sex work is the oldest profession, and yet it is the one industry that records the highest rate of violence and brutality. By marking this day, we are calling for an end to
violence in a working community that has experienced and continues to experience so much of it. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere, is injustice everywhere.”
For more information, contact Dorothy Ogutu (KESWA), Peninah Mwangi (BHESP) or Zawadi Nyong’o at
dec17kenya@gmail.com .
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Safer Work- a leaflet on safety at work made for sex workers by sex workers and organisations from five EU countries. The leaflet is available in Bulgarian, English, French, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.
Indoor Sex Work- An analysis and good practices manual on indoor sex work settings in seven European cities. The manual is available in English.