Fighting Violence Against Sex Workers in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia
"If I don't pay the police they threaten to beat me up, take my documents away, and force me to have sex," reported a sex worker in Ukraine, speaking about her daily reality. Activists from the Sex Worker Rights Advocacy Network of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (SWAN) have heard these words echoed by sex workers across the region.
On December 17, the "International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers," SWAN members from 16 countries joined groups from around the world in conducting actions to raise awareness about the pervasive violence sex workers experience. Groups distributed posters, postcards and coasters, organized press conferences, conducted marches and demonstrations, hosted multimedia exhibitions, and performed social dramas.
Ongoing efforts by SWAN to sensitize journalists to the human rights issues surrounding sex work have resulted in increased positive media coverage of the December 17 campaign. In one example, SWAN member Humanitarian Action of Russia was invited to participate in the Russian TV program, Freedom Bridge, to debate whether sex work should be considered a profession. The program, coordinated by a journalist who had participated in a SWAN seminar, resulted in a vote by viewers in favor of professionalizing sex work.
One of SWAN's objectives is fostering the increased involvement of sex workers themselves as leaders locally and within the network. Its efforts have led to the development of nascent, sex worker-run organizations in Macedonia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. As one activist of the Macedonian group, STAR, explained, "There are many sex workers in Macedonia who live stigmatized, in fear of violence and discrimination from the police, health institutions, centers for social work and the general population who all engage in verbal, psychological, and physical violence against us. This results from a lack of mechanisms for protection of the basic human rights and freedoms of sex workers. For that reason, a year ago we created our self-support group STAR, which will fight for our rights by breaking the silence." With SWAN's support, STAR has started its own monthly newsletter to do just that.
SWAN receives funding from the Sexual Health and Rights Project, the Health Media Initiative, and the OSI Information Program.