India’s first national Transgender beauty contest- Miss Indian Super Queen is being organised by Laxmi, who is a long time member and activist with APNSW.

If you wondering what is so great about the yet another talent hunt or another beauty pageant think again as ‘Indian Super Queen’ is the first ever beauty pageant for the transgender community in India.

The commendable initiative by Twelve Noon Entertainment, an initiative of Laxmi Narayan Tripathi along with VCare, a diversified business conglomerate saw its launch on Tuesday, Jan 19 with the support of Bollywood stars Celina Jaitley and Seema Biswas.

“’Indian Super Queen’ would bring the community of transgenders to unite and give a positive vibe about who and what they are,” said Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, known as Laxmi, CEO of Twelve Noon Entertainment.

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/19/india-first-transgender-beauty-pageant-starts.html

“Sex work organizations: Programs, advocacy, and opportunities for Chinese NGOs”.
This is a memo from Asia Catalyst based on research and outreach conducted over the past six months into international sex work organizations and their current programs and advocacy. The aim is to share this information with Chinese sex worker groups as they develop programs and advocacy campaigns.
附件有亚洲促进会发表的简报，“性工作者组织：给中国非政府组织介绍国外机构的项目和倡导机会”. 亚洲促进会在过去的六个月中对国际性工作组织和她们现有的项目与倡议进行了研究与调查，并基于此形成了这篇备忘录。我们的目的是与中国的性工作团体分享信息，以帮助她/他们将来制定项目计划和倡议运动。

Download PDF below in Chinese/English
Sex work organizations: Programs, advocacy, and opportunities for Chinese NGOs

Here is the first of our reports from the UNAIDS Program Coordinating Board meeting in Geneva, where Rathi Ramanathan is representing APNSW as one of the new NGO representatives for Asia Pacific.

We raised the issue of whether Pepfar restrictions on sex work would be reviewed under the administration.

Goosby: Prostitution clause – in middle of law suit 0 confident that we have internal agreement to minimize impact at global level. Will not require written statement to accept funds. Afraid to try to change language so as not to disrupt law suit. Getting sued is the correct approach. Confident we will be able to have it not impact the way it was intended to impact.

Goosby, the head of Pepfar and head of US delegation at the PC responded was that while language around Pepfar would not be reopened because too many detractors however two US based NGOs are now challenging the restrictions and should they be successful, that could open some opportunity for policy to be revised and he said the Obama administration was more open to the idea of relaxation the prostitution pledge. However, Michelle Moloney-Kitts, assistant coordinator of Pepfar who while insisted that funding around sex workers and access to prevention and other services (food, microcredit, eduaction, condoms availabiility) was still possible under Pepfar but insisted that monies could not be used for legalisation of sex work. When asked after the briefing Goosby’sposition on sex work, he said he was sympathetic but difficult to rally public support for Pepfar to fund legalisationof sex work in view that most americans do not view the legalisation of sex work favourable but he indicated, he would not object to international language drafted around legalisation of sex work . Michellle, part of the remaining Bush camp still holds a lot of weight especially around issues around gender and gender based violence and clearly anti-trafficking at the international fora. The current health attache of the US mission in Geneva is also an abolitionist.

Discussion with Michelle Sidibe and cosponsors

Met up with Steve Krause of UNFPA and he says, there is money for core funding for sex work related activities for 2010 but advised that proposals are sent in by end of Jan. For Asia Pacific proposals be sent to Bangkok office and him. Asked whether advocacy around MDG summit would be accepted, he said he would take a look. Rathi is talking to Vince about a collaborative proposals between Seven sisters and APNSW to build capacity and advocacy around MDG Summit and follow up for Universal Access review in 2011. We understand from Michelle Sidebe that he intends to lobby China, South Africa and another State (yet to be determined) to hold a HIV dialogue to review universal access after 2010 (UNGASS+). So it is important to start strategising around this Summit and securing funding for sex workers networks to attend.

Sidebe is expected to announce a high level task force on prevention which we view as positive especially in view that with of potential cutbacks by donors as a result of the financial crisis. This task force could garner political will to increase funding on prevention, an area the second evaluation has admiteed that UN joint programme has neglected. He also expressed concern around punitive laws as a barrier for key populations to access to HIV services. As a result we didn’t follow up spefcially with him on the idea of a thematic issue of punitive laws affecting key population. Vince of seven sisters who is also on the Bureau raised this issue of thematic on punitive laws but was informed that there is a list of themes already slated. He said he would email list to APNSW. However on a positive note, the PCB NGO delegation have also committed that that in view that stigma and discrimination is an agenda item for the June 2010 PCB, punitive laws which act as barriers to key populations would definitely be raised at the meeting.

Rathi Ramanathan, APNSW and Gulnara Kurmanova, Tais Plus

It has come to our attention that their is still continuing debate around the issue of the French Culture Minister,
Frédéric Mitterrand, and his admission that he paid for sex with male sex workers in Thailand. We have seen attacks on him from both the left and the right of French politics- attacks which we see as both homophobic and anti-sex worker.

Worse we see the racist, orientalist views of the elites on both sides of French politics who construct Thai sex workers as somehow “backward” and unable to choose what we do. In Thailand all male sex workers are referred to by the term “Nong” which means boy. We are not duped under age boys forced into “sexual slavery.” We are people in a poor country exercising our choices to live and earn money to support ourselves, our family and our country.

The money we earn and send home to the rural areas of Thailand is far larger than any international development programme and supports far more people.
Tourism to Thailand is our country’s second biggest industry- and people have sex on holidays. Are they meant to be celibate? Is it now unacceptable for Europeans to have sex with Asians in case they are exploiting us? If French politicians are so concerned about our exploitation they would do better to support labour laws for sex workers and to push the ILO to recognise sex work as work.

When and until the parties of the Left and the Right of French politics agree to substantially increase development aid to redistribute the wealth that France and other former colonial countries stole from the developing world, we would appreciate it if you keep sending us your tourists so that we can show them a good time and get some of your hard won cash.

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Il a été porté à notre attention qu’il y a toujours un débat en cours autour de la question du ministre français de la Culture,
Frédéric Mitterrand, et son aveu d’avoir payé pour des rapports sexuels avec des professionnels du sexe en Thaïlande. Nous avons vu ces attaques contre lui provenant à la fois de la gauche et de la droite de la politique française- attaques que nous voyons à la fois comme homophobes et anti-travailleurs du sexe.

Pire encore, nous les voyons comme racistes, une vision orientaliste des élites des deux côtés de la politique française qui construisent une representation des travailleurs du sexe thaïs, en quelque sorte «en position de passivite» et incapable de choisir ce que nous faisons. En Thaïlande, tous les travailleurs de sexe masculins sont désignés par le terme «Nong», qui signifie garçon. Nous ne sommes pas des garçons forces en dessous de l’age legal contraints à l’esclavage sexuel. ” Nous sommes des gens dans un pays pauvre qui exercons notre choix de vivre et de gagner de l’argent pour nous memes et soutenir, notre famille et notre pays.

L’argent que nous gagnons et que nous envoyons chez nous dans les zones rurales de la Thaïlande est beaucoup plus important que tout programme de développement international et soutient beaucoup plus de personnes.
Le tourisme en Thaïlande est la deuxième industrie de notre pays et les gens ont des rapports sexuels pendant les vacances. Sont-ils censés rester célibataires? Est-il aujourd’hui inacceptable pour les Européens d’avoir des rapports sexuels avec des Asiatiques au cas où ils nous exploiteraient? Si les politiciens français sont si préoccupés par notre exploitation, ils feraient mieux de soutenir des lois protegeant le travail des travailleurs du sexe et de pousser l’OIT à reconnaître le travail du sexe comme un travail.

Tant que et jusqu’à ce que les partis de la gauche et la droite de la politique française acceptent d’augmenter substantiellement l’aide au développement pour redistribuer les richesses que la France et d’autres anciens pays coloniaux ont volé au monde en développement, nous serions reconnaissants si vous continuez à nous envoyer vos touristes, afin que nous puissions leur montrer ce qu’est passer du bon temps et obtenir une partie de votre argent durement acquis.

Khun Chutchai
Réseau Asie-Pacifique des travailleurs du sexe, Bangkok. Thaïlande.

Paradoxical and shocking though it may seem, human rights are
being used to violate sex workers rights. The very framework
of human rights does this because it depends on interpretation
– and interpretation is easily laced with social prejudice. When,
as is often the case, sex work is interpreted as removing a
woman’s ‘dignity’, and being of moral harm to all women, then
the principle of indivisibility – all rights are equally important –
becomes an oppressive tool to those who want to practice sex
work for economic or other reasons. The right to do sex work is
dismissed because sex work is deemed oppressive and a human
rights violation to women. Perhaps what is more disturbing is
that everybody thinks this is correct. In the name of human rights,
unethical and even violent actions against sex work populations
are not only widely endorsed, but given accolades.

Click below for PDF file:
Who stole the tarts_small

In 2008 APNSW released this report on issues for sex workers regarding new prevention technologies.
With the debates around PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis) heating up, and today’s release of the results of the Thai Prime-Boost vaccine trials it is more important than ever for sex workers and sex worker groups to start debating the issues and preparing for the impact of new prevention technologies on sex workers and in the sex industry.

Click below for PDF file:
Sex Work and the New Era of HIV Prevention and Care

APNSW has been part of the first International Social Action Film Festival to be organised in Asia, by the group Sinema in Singapore.
On Saturday we attended a film showing and a panel discussion where Elaine from Zi Teng in Hong Kong spoke, and we then met with people who are setting up a sex workers’ project in Singapore. Selvi, from the APNSW board spoke with them in depth about the issues and plans to network with them in the future from KL.
On Monday we showed 2 APNSW films and one film from WNU in Cambodia on the Tenofovir trial. Another film called Pecah Lobang (English= Busted), which was made with PT Foundation in Malaysia about the issues for TG sex workers under Syariah law was also shown. Afterwards Dale, Selvi and I took part in a panel discussion along with Leona Lo, a TG activist and artist from Singapore. http://leonalo.wordpress.com

There was a lot of interest in the films on the situation in Cambodia, and discussions of how and if similar issues applied in Singapore. Singapore has a weird ‘legal’ system of sex work regulation where foreign workers can get permits to work in licensed brothels if they get the correct visa and submit to mandatory testing. This helps back up the assertion that their are “no Singaporeans” working as sex workers- but it just means local sex workers have to work outside the system; and it means migrant sex workers who can’t get a permit and a “yellow card” have to work outside the system as well. Human rights and migrant rights organisations in Singapore are finally starting to take these issues up and are, thankfully, working from the premise that sex work and trafficking are two very different things. We’ll be trying to network with them in the future.

Sinema did a great job of organising this first festival, including the difficult task of getting us our foreign speakers permits from the police who obviously tow the government line that sex work is not an issue for Singaporeans. We plan to work with them to show a selection of films on sex work issues from across Asia and the Pacific on December 17 to mark International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers; as well as working to get a bigger selection of films and art work to show here for next years Social Action Film Festival.

http://www.youtube.com/mtvnoexit

http://www.filmsforchange.org

The recently concluded ICAAP 9 conference in Bali Indonesia was the most public place where a number of new directions in sex work and HIV policy were announced or negotiated.

The conference represented UNAIDS most public declaration of the new position on sex work that it has adopted after years of lobbying by APNSW and other NSWP member organisations. Gone is the focus on rehabilitation and rescue and in it’s place the Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidebe announced that vulnerable communities must be at the heart of the response to HIV; and included in this was a need to remove laws that criminalised sex workers- see links below.

This was backed up by UNDP and also the UN Special Rapporteur on Health in other media releases from the conference.

APNSW also organised a very fruitful dialogue with the director and some key staff of the Global Fund (GFATM) and told him of the issues sex workers face in GFATM funded programming for sex workers. APNSW put forward the position that Country Coordinating Mechanisms  (CCM’s) that are developing proposals that cover sex workers must include sex worker representation and must consult more widely with the sex worker communities on their needs and program impacts. Additionally we argued for a new Technical Guidance to be used by the Technical Review Panel (TRP) when assessing country and regional proposals for funding. In reality it is the TRP who decide whether a countries proposal is technically sound and should be funded.  The nuts and bolts of these issues are to be followed up on in time for the next round of the Fund. This represents an opportunity for real change for millions of sex workers on the ground across Asia and the Pacific.

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Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director
More than a thousand people become infected with HIV in Asia each day. If only we had invested in reaching populations at higher risk and their partners, most of these infections could have been averted – at a cost of less than half a US dollar per person.
We are beginning to see success in some parts of the region, but not enough to break the trajectory of the epidemic.
The Commission on AIDS in Asia has recommended that the AIDS epidemic in the region be redefined. We must transform the AIDS response so that it works for people—especially for those who are marginalized and without a voice. This means protecting sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender, injecting drug users and women.
How can we do this?
1. Decriminalize consensual adult sexual behaviour and drug use.
2. Address HIV transmission among intimate partners.
3. Invest in evidence-informed HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programmes.
4. Adopt an ‘AIDS plus Millennium Development Goal’ approach.
Decriminalize consensual adult sexual behaviour and drug use
Many countries are changing laws that criminalize consensual adult sexual behaviour (including sex work) and drug use, and courts are helping to clarify bad laws. In Indonesia, the Supreme Court ruled that drug users need care, not prison. In Nepal, the highest court has established that transgender and men who have sex with men have equality under the constitution. And in India, the Delhi High Court has restored dignity to millions, by reading down an archaic law that discriminated against men who have sex with men. New Zealand has legalised sex work and reaped the dual benefits of public health and public safety. Australia has demonstrated that law enforcement and public health goals can go hand in hand while dealing with drug use. We can remove punitive laws and policies that block effective responses to AIDS.
But the real transformation has to be in the hearts and minds of people. Courts and parliaments can only create an enabling environment. Societies and communities have to change the social norms that allow stigma and discrimination.
Links:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5791BX20090810?sp=true

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009081127672/National-news/trafficking-law-impeding-hiv-efforts-experts.html

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/099200908111411.htm

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/11/hope-reality-transforming-aids-response.html

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48054

APNSW recently held our annual Human Rights Workshop in Bangkok. We had members from India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. This year we looked at the barriers to Universal Access to HIV prevention, care and support for sex workers- with a particular focus on human rights issues for HIV+ sex workers and on legal and policy barriers to Universal Access.

One of the main activities was an art based advocacy piece looking at the key human rights issues for HIV positive sex workers. We made a large mural- with cages and traps representing laws/policing; hospitals and health systems; INGO’s and donors; and society, religion and culture. These are mini sculptures attached to the canvas which explain the way these systems and institutions exclude or discriminate against HIV positive sex workers. We will show this art piece at ICAAP in Bali.

We’d like to thank AJWS for their support of our workshop and for understanding and supporting our Arts based method of working across languages and cultures.

Look back here in two weeks for a full workshop report, and in a few more weeks for a full video report on the workshop and the barriers sex workers face in reaching Universal Access.

http://www.globallyawarearts.com

The Asia and the Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW) would like to commend the U.S. Department of State on their 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, with specific reference to their recognition of Cambodia’s failure to properly implement and enforce minimum international standards with it’s law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. The TIP Report acknowledges a number of the issues arising from the conflation of sex work and trafficking in Cambodia, as well as the misguided enforcement of the law. The root of this being that “Not all government officials have appeared to distinguish between the law’s articles on trafficking offences and non-trafficking crimes such as prostitution … as a result law enforcement has focused on prostitution-related crimes…”. As noted in the TIP report “Following the passage of the law Cambodian police conducted numerous raids on brothels and detained a large number of women in prostitution while failing to arrest, investigate or charge any large number of persons for human trafficking offences.” APNSW hopes that the focus of the enforcement of the law will be shifted from the policing, arrest and detention of sex workers as “traffickers” to the investigation and prosecution of major traffickers, in line with the recommendations given by the U.S. Department of State in the TIP Report. As a result of these detentions, a number of human rights abuses against sex workers have been reported upon their release. Some of which are mentioned in the TIP report including rape, physical beatings and extortion, all said to have been committed by some police and Ministry of Social Affairs officials. Due to this failed enforcement and lack of trafficking convictions Cambodia has been placed back on the Tier 2 Watch List for trafficking. APNSW and Women’s Network for Unity have advocated strongly for the recognition of this issue and it is with cautious optimism that we welcome the report. It is good to see the US government at last treating seriously the issues that sex workers have raised. Given Secretary Clinton’s commitment to assessing US anti-trafficking efforts and the millions of dollars in anti-trafficking funds committed by the US Department of State to anti-trafficking efforts in Cambodia; it would be useful for the US government to look into why their programs to improve standards have clearly failed. We look forward to working with the Cambodian and US governments to develop programs to address sex workers health and human rights which are based in evidence and rights.

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/reports/2009/121506.htm