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

Between August 2004 and February 2005 the HIV prevention world was rocked by the suspension and cancellation of PrEP effectiveness trials in Cambodia and Cameroon. To the considerable surprise of researchers, advocates, and donors, the trials became embroiled in escalating controversies and sparked protests by advocates speaking on behalf of the communities where trial participants were being recruited. The activists not only raised questions about how the research was being conducted, but also challenged the fundamental ethics and underlying motives of the research. The Global Campaign for Microbicides is launching two in-depth case studies relating the events that led to these cancellations and extracting the lessons they provide for current and future research. Acknowledging that no single version of the events constitutes the “real story”, the case studies are built from extensive interviews with researchers, policymakers and other government officials, donors, NGO staff, and advocates to reconstruct often incompatible accounts of what eventually led to government intervention that halted the research. The case studies capture the political context and backdrop against which the controversies arose and the underlying and unaddressed conflicts that led to the costly collapse of two Phase 3 trials. These reports are important and exciting reading for anyone interested in sound science, human rights and communication across enormous cultural, social, and economic disparities. The HIV prevention field has made substantial progress since 2005 in forging mechanisms to be transparent and build trust between trial communities and researchers. But much remains to be done, and that the potential for conflict remains. As the first PrEP trials move toward completion this year, these case studies offer a timely look at what we have learned and what pressing challenges remain unaddressed.

The two case studies are available on-line at http://www.global-campaign.org/ethics-resources.htm

This is a monograph by Cheryl Overs about  events surrounding the introduction of the Suppression Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Cambodia in 2008. We welcome suggestions for corrections or modifications for the final draft, discussion about the law and relevant updates.

The APNSW March 2009.

Click here for PDF file:    caught-between-the-tiger-and-the-crocodile

Sex Workers Group Wins HIV and Rights Award APNSW Honored at AIDS Conference (Mexico City, August 6, 2008)

Sex Workers Group Wins HIV and Rights Award Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers Honored at AIDS Conference (Mexico City, August 6, 2008) – The Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW) is the recipient of the 2008 international Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch announced today. The award, which recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that protect the rights and dignity of people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, was presented in Mexico City on August 6, 2008, at the XVII International AIDS Conference. “Sex workers routinely face human rights abuses, including the discriminatory denial of health services, arbitrary detention by police, harassment, and sexual and physical violence,” said Richard Elliott, executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (www.aidslaw.ca). “This award recognizes the extraordinary contribution of the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers in the struggle for sex workers’ rights.” Since 1994, the network has represented sex workers in various policy and educational forums, promoting the participation of sex workers in HIV/AIDS programs and supporting dialogue between nongovernmental organizations, governments and activists. The group has challenged the increasing criminalization of all forms of sex work and unethical drug trials with sex workers as subjects. The Asia Pacific network has shaped policy at the global and regional levels, and built the capacity of local grassroots sex worker organizations, including creating a network of transgender activists. Throughout Asia, the network has been challenging gender-based violence, promoting access to health care for sex workers, and advocating for the decriminalization of sex workers. “I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the Asia Pacific Network for Sex Workers,” said Andrew Hunter, the Network’s policy director. “International recognition of sex workers’ human rights, and the active inclusion of sex workers, are important elements of efforts to curb the HIV pandemic. Governments and UN agencies need to hear – and heed — this message. We need sustainable, comprehensive HIV prevention and care initiatives for sex workers that are community-led and aim to protect and promote sex workers’ human rights.” The stigmatization, social exclusion and legal marginalization of sex workers contribute to human rights violations, and can exacerbate their risk of HIV infection. Increasingly, according to the Asia Pacific Network, anti-trafficking efforts and laws criminalizing transactional sex have resulted in violence and human rights abuses faced by sex workers at the hands of police. The organization pointed to new anti-trafficking legislation in Cambodia, where sex workers have been sent to “rehabilitation” centers and subjected to sexual violence and beatings, and had little access to healthcare or food. “Being a part of APNSW – working in solidarity with tens of thousands of sex workers in the region – has allowed us to challenge the way the authorities have applied this law in Cambodia and to gain strength to bring this issue to international attention” said Kao Tha from the Women’s Network for Unity, a sex worker rights organization in Cambodia. “The International AIDS Conference presents a forum in which to focus worldwide attention on the epidemic and our global response,” said Joe Amon, director of the HIV/AIDS program at Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org/hivaids). “Unfortunately, too often that response has been tainted by prejudice and misinformation. Only by ensuring the health and human rights of sex workers will governments, UN agencies, donors and non-governmental groups be effective at reducing the vulnerability of sex workers to HIV infection. The Asia Pacific Network’s work epitomizes this.” The Awards for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights were established in 2002 by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch. An award is presented annually to one Canadian and one international recipient. This year’s Canadian recipient was Peter Collins, a prisoner and health activist in Ontario, Canada. To learn more about the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers, please visit:

http://apnsw.org/apnsw.htm

https://sexworkerspresent.blip.tv/#9772333

http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/hivaids/Awards_for_Action/past_recipients.htm

http://www.aidslaw.ca/awards”

For Immediate Release / Embargoed Until Wednesday August 6th, 2 pm Central Daylight Time (UTC – 5 hours)