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| MOGS01 |
A Labour Rights Approach to HIV and Sex Work: Working with Sex Workers to Protect Human Rights, Prevent and Eliminate Violence and Sexual Harassment and Promote Equal Access to Social Protection Schemes |
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Global Village Workshop
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| Venue: |
GV Session Room 2 |
| Time: |
23.07.2012, 11:00 - 12:30 |
Level: Intermediate
Target audience: Policy maker, Administration
Seating limits: 160 |
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Facilitator:
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Alice Ouedraogo, Switzerland
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| Sex workers are calling for a more participatory approach to HIV programming in which they have the power to determine their priorities and needs. A fundamental goal of sex workers' organizations is to enhance protection of human rights in the workplace. This spectrum of rights includes a safe and healthy workplace, prevention and elimination of sexual harassment and gender-based violence, and improved access to social protection schemes. Speakers will explore options for building and maintaining successful partnerships with sex workers and their organizations so that they can collectively develop innovative rights-based approaches to improve sex workers' access to HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support services. Participants will gain a better understanding of relevant international labour standards that safeguard workers' rights and will be able to identify and build on lessons learned from existing partnerships and best practices of sex-worker led approaches for improving health and working conditions. |
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11:00
MOGS0101 | Introduction
S. Kraus, Switzerland
| 11:10
MOGS0102 | A labour rights approach to HIV and sex work
A. Ouedraogo, Switzerland
| 11:20
MOGS0105 | Labour, dignity and heathl for sex workers; challenges in a changing landscape
C. Overs, Australia
| 11:30
MOGS0103 | An assessment of working conditions among venue establishment based sex workers in Cambodia
N. Poetschka, Vietnam
| 11:40
MOGS0104 | Occupational health and safety as a foundation for effective HIV programming: best practices and challenges in Thailand and the United States
C. Apisuk, Thailand
K. Dorsey, United States
| 12:00
| Questions and answers
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Rapporteur report
GV report by Tashrik Ahmed
Sex workers are among the most highly impacted and at the same time, hardest to reach populations with regards to HIV risk. While important steps have been made to increase awareness and rights of sex workers, approaching the problem from the perspective of labor rights is among the most promising and all encompassing method towards restoring rights to this population. Political issues surrounding this area have made this subject complex to navigate, and the discussion is a clear dichotomy between wanting sex workers come to the front lines in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and at the same time relegating their societal status to that of criminals. The session highlighted this hypocrisy, as sex workers were not allowed to obtain visas to attend, and instead joined by teleconference by Calcutta from the Freedom Festival.
The International Labour Organization has taken a bold stance on the topic of sex workers in the past year by introducing Recommendation 200: recognizing the rights of sex workers, regardless of the sector of work. This allows for discussion of sex workers by stating facts, without implying any moral judgment. Thailand has worked towards implementing this recommendation, starting with the proposed CAN DO system, a comprehensive set of goals aimed at making sex workers part of the general economic scheme. Research in the sex worker population in Cambodia recommends that new efforts don’t need to be made, rather existing ones may be augmented and strengthened. Further, important initiatives that should be implemented going forward should include bringing a workplace perspective to the discussion, as well as strengthening entertainment sector unions to lobby politicians.
Ultimately, one speaker concluded, “realizing the rights of sex workers and bringing them into HIV care is the only way to move towards an HIV-free generation.”
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