International Union Rights: Sex Workers Organizing

30 Pages·2005·0.338 MB·English

by  Daniel Blackburn

I N T E R N A T I O N A L
union
union
Volume12 Issue 4 2005
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE
rights FOR TRADE UNION RIGHTS
rights
CENTRO INTERNACIONAL
PARA LOS DERECHOS
SINDICALES
CENTRE INTERNATIONAL
POUR LES DROITS
SYNDICAUX
Sex workers
organising
CONTENTS
Volume 12 Issue 4 2005
Journal of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights 2 EDITORIAL: The unionisation of sex workers
●● Centro Internacional para los Derechos Sindicales
●● Centre International pour les Droits Syndicaux
FOCUS: SEX WORKERS ORGANISING
3 Violence against sex workers and the role
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
of unions
union
Elena Reynaga
5 Unionising sex workers in the context of
regulation
Marianne Jonker
6 Sex worker organising in south east Asia
rights
and USAID
Womyn’s Agenda for Change & Women’s
Network for Unity
8 Sex work: European legal frameworks
Ashwini Sukthankar
10 Sex workers of the world unite!
Ana Lopes
12 Streetwalkers show the way
Nandinee Bandyopadhyay
Editor
Daniel Blackburn
ICTUR IN ACTION
Guest Editor 14 Interventions:China; Djibouti; France;
Ashwini Sukthankar Ethiopia; Guatemala; Indonesia; Iran;
Macedonia; Mauritania; Mexico; Russia;
Deputy Editor Thailand; Turkey; Zimbabwe
Steve Gibbons 16 ICTUR map a hit at Canadian union school;
Bulgarian jurists look at ILO standards;
Editorial Board
Defending trade union rights – legal action
Roy Adams, David Bacon, David Doorey, Dan Gallin, Colin
Fenwick, John Hendy QC, Carolyn Jones Chair, centres; British trade union education; Iraq;
Eric Lee, Jill Murray, Rory O’Neill, Tom Sibley, Australia – ICTUR lawyers defend union
Nora Wintour, Charles Woolfson, Nick Wright rights
Legal Editor REPORT
Professor Keith Ewing 17 Collective bargaining ban under scrutiny
Ashwini Sukthankar
ICTUR International Head Office
UCATT House
FOCUS
177 Abbeville Road
18 Sex workers in Spain
London SW4 9RL
020 7498 4700 Carmen Bravo
Fax [phone] An anti-trafficking framework is not enough
e-mail [email protected] Irina Alkhovka
web site www.ictur.org 22 Scarlet Alliance
Ashwini Sukthankar
ICTUR President
Sharan Burrow
REPORT
24 Colombia: labour rights in the oil sector
Vice Presidents
Daniel Blackburn
Mordy Bromberg SC, Fathi El-Fadl, Professor Keith Ewing,
John Hendy QC, Jeffrey Sack QC, Jitendra Sharma,
Hassan A Sunmonu 26 WORLDWIDE: Americas; Australia;
Burma/Myanmar; Europe; Global; ILO/Colombia;
Director India; Labour standards; Social auditing;
Daniel Blackburn Solidarity action; USA/ATCA; USA
Colombia/Latin America Coordinator
28 The Eric Lee Column
Miguel Puerto
Fast Forward: unions need to use online video
to campaign for workers’ rights
Subscriptions
Four issues: £20/US$40/C30
Cheques should be made payable to IUR and sent to ICTUR
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Printed by Upstream, London
INTERNATIONAL union rights
ISSN 1018-5909
Page 1 Volume12 Issue 4 2005 INTERNATIONAL union rights
ICTUR ❐ EDITORIAL
Editorial: the unionisation
of sex workers
THERE is undeniably controversy about whether it is who rejected them expressed the opinion that sex work is
appropriate to treat the sale of sexual services as a form not like other forms of work,and that the sector is not one
of work. Even the language used to discuss prostitution is a that is easily organised. Lopes notes,however,that the
site of tension:some advocates insist on talking about it as obstacles are by no means unique to sex work,and points
‘sexual slavery’,and assert that the only ethical approach is out that some of the concerns raised – the semi-legality of
to rescue those trapped within it. There are still others who sex workers,the stigma and the discrimination – are
see prostitution as crime,where the prostitute,if she is not identical to those raised about undocumented migrant
a victim,must be a criminal disrupting public order. This workers.
issue of IURis not a forum for arguments about whether or Some authors see unions as an alternative to the
not sex can be work but rather asks – how is a labour structure of NGOs which,among other criticisms,are seen
rights analysis relevant to prostitution? as being too dependent on the politics of funders,as
As the Spanish trade union Comisiones Obreras writes described by both Scarlet Alliance from Australia and the
here,the claiming of labour rights as sex workers’ rights is Women’s Network for Unity in Cambodia. In the case of
a dramatic shift away from the old conversations about how Cambodia,the article deals specifically with unionisation
to deal with the ‘problem’ of prostitution – whether through and autonomous structure as a strategy to challenge and
decriminalisation,state regulation,or abolition – and places circumvent the funding policies of the United States Agency
the emphasis on sex workers’ own understanding of their for International Development which,under the current US
interests. administration,requires each recipient to declare that it
Many of the articles here address the role of unions in does not ‘promote,support or advocate the legalisation or
this context,in terms of their strengths as well as practice of prostitution’.
weaknesses in dealing with sex worker communities. However,many of the autonomous groups described
AMMAR,an organisation of sex workers in Argentina, here – including Women’s Network for Unity – emerged
describes an overwhelmingly positive relationship with the with the initial support of NGOs. Nandinee Bandhopadhyay,
union CTA,which initiated a process of organising, writing about DMSC in India,describes the coalescence of
empowerment and education with them in order to combat an autonomous group out of an HIV/AIDS prevention and
the violence and exploitation they faced from police. treatment project that emphasised peer-led strategies.
Ana Lopes of the International Union of Sex Workers in Scarlet Alliance also describes the sense of heightened,
London,on the other hand,describes having had to shared vulnerability to HIV/AIDS as a powerful motivating
approach numerous other unions before they persuaded factor for sex workers to come together in Australia.
GMB to accept them as members. She notes that the unions The articles describe differing approaches to the
relationship between sex workers and the state. In the case
of DMSC,the group advocates for nothing more than
Next issue of IUR
decriminalisation,and emphasises self-regulation of the
profession even in terms of reducing the numbers of minors
Articles between 850 and1,900 words should be sent by email or trafficking victims entering sex work. On the other hand,
([email protected]) and accompanied by a photograph and short biographical Marianne Jonker,former president of Vakwerk in the
note of the author. Photographs illustrating the theme of articles are always Netherlands,accepts that the state has a legitimate interest
in controlling the sex industry and welcomes legalisation in
welcome. All items must be with us by1st February 2006 if they are to be
the country,seeing it as having opened the door to talking
considered for publication in the next issue of IUR.
about further crucial worker rights such as access to social
Subscribe to IUR: to subscribe,complete the box below. security,retirement benefits,protections against unlawful
termination.
Irina Alkhovka notes that anti-trafficking efforts must
I/we would like to subscribe to International Union Rightsand enclose focus on conditions of work in the sex industry,rather than
merely the process of recruitment into sex work,in order to
£20/US$40/C30.
be effective.
Some activists have expressed frustration with the ways
Name/Organisation
in which trafficking has shaped the discourse around sex
work.
Address Others have pointed out that while there is international
cooperation and mobilisation around combatting trafficking,
there are no such efforts to promote,for example,minimum
labour protections for sex workers globally. However,there
Post Code are signs that this is changing,and there have been
proposals for European and international networks of
Four issues £20/US$40/C30. Cheques should be made payable to “IUR”
unions engaged in sex worker organising,for the sharing of
and sent to:ICTUR,177 Abbeville Road,London SW4 9RL,UK strategies and the shaping of a common agenda.
INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 2 Volume12 Issue4 2005
FOCUS❐ SEX WORKERS ORGANISING
Violence against sex workers
and the role of unions
OUR organisation, Asociación de Mujeres tion of labour unions, and when we lodged com- Once we had the
Meretrices de Argentina (Association of plaints of violence and harassment,the complaints
support of the
Argentine Prostituyes),or AMMAR (with the were signed not only by AMMAR, but also by the
acronym alluding to the Spanish word ‘amar’, to CTA.It was thus fundamental to us to be part of a trade union
love),was formed in1994. workers' federation that supported and strength-
federation the
At the time, we were dealing with severe police ened us as the struggle grew harder.Once we had
crackdowns and oppression. While prostitution is that support,police thought twice before harming police thought
not proscribed under Argentine law, neither is it and harassing us.
explicitly legal. (Pimping, on the other hand, is Once inside the CTA, we instituted education twice before
prohibited by Argentine law). Police in some programmes. We went out into our communities, harming and
provinces and cities were thus relying on local schools, bars, universities, and poor neighbour-
ordinances outlawing vagrancy, loitering, and dis- hoods, and carried out training and workshops in harassing us
orderly conduct (tellingly referred to as ‘ademanes sex education and AIDS prevention. One of our
escandalosos’, or scandalous behaviour) to harass greatest victories came about in 1998, when we
and arbitrarily arrest prostitutes. Penalties for vio- worked actively to reform the municipal code in
lating these local police edicts included jail time of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires. As a result, the
up to 21days. cities of Buenos Aires and Paraná, and several
The police demanded bribes and kickbacks from provinces, repealed those ‘disorderly conduct’
us, and engaged in abuse and arbitrary detentions. ordinances that had been used as pretexts for
The police would grab us, drag us on the ground, police harassment. And now, even in provinces
kick and beat us, and take us to jail, where we where those laws and ordinances have not been
were held in awful conditions,in filthy cells whose repealed,there has been a political decision not to
floors and walls were covered with excrement and enforce them.Thus,there are provinces where our
urine. Even prostitutes who were pregnant were comrades, once they identify themselves as being
held in these cells. We had to mutiny inside the affiliated with AMMAR, are no longer bothered by
cells in order to get the police to take these preg- the police.
nant women to the hospital.Inside the jails,and in This victory in the repeal of ordinances was a
the patrol cars,we were also subjected to rape. turning point for us in that it gave our organisation
In 1994, then, in the face of this police harass- increased visibility throughout the country, and
ment, we decided that we could not confront it showed us that the way to confront our problems
individually and decided to band together. Before and demand our rights was by organising.We take
this time, we had also been held back by the fact every opportunity to get our message out to the
that we believed what we had been told historical- public, talking to newspapers and doing radio and
ly, that we were trash and had no rights. The television interviews,and public service announce-
change in our mindset came about in part because ments whenever possible. Granted, this is not
we began to have contact with people from the always easy,since there is not much of an indepen-
Central de Trabajadores Argentinos (CTA). Once dent media in Argentina, and the media monopo-
we were shown that we were citizens like anyone lies have not been as receptive to us and to our
else, and once we believed it, we launched what message as we would have liked. Still, we have
we saw as our biggest struggle, to get the police accomplished a great deal in terms of public per-
off our backs, since they had always been our ception. We have sensitised a great number of
greatest pimps. people in our society, and now people are begin-
For the first three months of AMMAR’s exis- ning to regard us differently, as people first and
tence, we met clandestinely in bars, so that the then as sex workers.
police would not get wind of our plans.Eventually, Perhaps in contrast to the experiences of sex
however, the police discovered what we were up workers in other countries, we experience the
to, and responded accordingly. We were dragged notion of the client as a violent person as a myth.
from the bars onto the streets and harassed, beat- Our clients are typically average men, family men,
en, and had our lives threatened. I was personally who are seeking a service like any other. While ELENA REYNAGA is President of
threatened and told that the police would plant there is violence from petty criminals such as AMMAR in Argentina
five kilos of cocaine on me and arrest me for drug purse-snatchers, violence, when it comes, usually
trafficking. They said I was crazy, and that they comes from pimps or the police or the owners of
could get away it because, after all, who would brothels. These are often the same people. While
believe a whore? brothels are technically illegal, owners of brothels
In March of 1995, we became part of the CTA, (and fronts such as massage parlours and saunas)
and this was the turning point in our struggle to are in cahoots with the police,who look the other
gain acceptance, recognition, and clout. It was of way and are sometimes part owners or at least take
great help in our combat against police violence, bribes or a cut of the profits in exchange for their
since we now had the backing of this large federa- negligence.
Page 3 Volume12 Issue 4 2005 INTERNATIONAL union rights
FOCUS❐ SEX WORKERS ORGANISING
In fact,it was the opposition of one of our mem- do should be considered work.This group,howev-
bers to precisely this type of police corruption that er, never stopped to think that before challenging
led to a galvanising event in our history, the mur- us,they should listen to us and understand that we
der, on 27 January 2003, of our comrade Sandra are not promoting this type of work, but, rather,
Cabrera in the city of Rosario. Sandra had spent a only asserting that this is our reality,and that every
long time exposing and denouncing the corruption day our comrades are being raped, exploited and
of the police in the province of Santa Fe, where discriminated against. We also assert that, in the
the city of Rosario is located.The police there took face of this reality, we have to act and not sit
a cut of profits from brothels or ran their own around, waiting for someone someday to take pity
brothels, participated in drug smuggling and on us and ‘save us’.In fact,quite the opposite.We
human trafficking, demanded bribes, and kept a understand that we have to raise our cultural level
As a result of portion of all drugs seized in raids. As a result of and our self-esteem, not only to defend our rights
Sandra’s work, the leadership of the Santa Fe as sex workers, but also as citizens of a country
Sandra’s work,the
police authority was forced to resign. that was sacked and outraged by the lack of partici-
leadership of the This made Sandra extremely unpopular.She had pation and recognition to which they have accus-
been receiving death threats for six months prior tomed us.The second group of opponents consists
Santa Fe police
to her murder, both at the CTA and on her cell of those who have lived, and continue to live, off
authority was phone. A police escort was stationed at her door, us. These are the various mafias that combine
ostensibly to protect her. However, three days many interested parties,and they are the ones who
forced to resign before her murder, the police escort was mysteri- murdered our comrade Sandra Cabrera.
ously discontinued. On the night of 27 January However, things have improved considerably
2003,when Sandra went on the street to work,she since1994, and this has been due to unionisation.
On the night of 27 was shot point blank in the back of the head. It Being part of the CTA has been crucial. The
was an execution. Justice, Health, and Education Ministers know us,
January 2003,
After Sandra’s murder, there was a large protest and meet personally with us rather than sending
Sandra was shot attended by 7,000 people, and not only sex work- their underlings. We have also had meetings with
ers. As a sign of solidarity, there were representa- President Néstor Kirchner, a progressive, left-of-
point blank in the
tives from various organisations and trade unions centre politician who used to be a labour lawyer.
back of the head as well. In fact, he was the lawyer for one of the unions
A policeman was detained during the investiga- that is part of the CTA. After 11years of struggle,
tion. The first judge who investigated the matter we have finally received official recognition from
found that there was sufficient evidence before the government as valid participants in the discus-
being taken off the case. The second judge ruled sion to address the problems in our sector.In early
that there was no evidence of guilt,and the police- October, President Kirchner signed a decree that
man was released after three months of detention. opens up an official line of communication and
However, we have not forgotten our comrade. recognises that the fact that sex workers are not
Every Tuesday, Sandra’s comrades in the city of entitled to social security or retirement benefits is
Rosario gather in front of the courthouse,carrying an act of discrimination that must be addressed by
banners with Sandra’s picture and demanding truth the government.We want recognition of our work
and justice. There has been a demonstration on as work. What we want is to have the same rights
each anniversary of Sandra's murder, and for next as any other class of worker in our country, and
January we are planning a march from Rosario to not special laws, since those are also a kind of dis-
Buenos Aires to protest in front of the government crimination. We are not looking for special privi-
buildings. leges,but we will no longer be marginalised.At the
Opposition to our organising comes principally end of the day,we want equality,just like every cit-
from two different quarters, each with its own izen of Argentina.
characteristics. The first group of opponents uses
highly moralistic arguments,denying that what we
INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 4 Volume12 Issue4 2005

FOCUS❐ SEX WORKERS ORGANISING
Sex worker organising
in south east Asia and
USAID
The policy of the “Iwas part of the group which started the sex both local and international, chose to continue to
worker network because I understood after take funding from USAID. Therefore, by default,
United States
the change in the USAID policy that all the they chose to support the clause discriminating
Agency for NGOs, both national and international, had turned against sex workers. This clause was surely a con-
their backs on us.Before this they always told us to tradiction to the American export of human rights?
International
form groups and that we needed to be strong and The change of policy altered the delivery of HIV
Development learn skills so we could become independent.” prevention programmes from the proven rights-
(SM,Women’s Network for Unity Member,2004) based approach of ‘empowerment = HIV
(USAID) was The policy of the United States Agency for reduction’,to an American dream approach known
changed by the International Development (USAID) was changed as ABC: abstinence, be faithful and condom use.
by the current US administration to require all This is not even worth commenting on; anyone
current US recipients of USAID funds to oppose prostitution who lives in the real world can see that this is ludi-
and to prohibit grantees from promoting its legali- crous, insidious, and harmful. As one member of
administration to
sation.For some staff of a variety of local organisa- the WNU put it, “this is unrealistic and does not
require all tions in Cambodia, the new policy legitimised apply to human beings”.
overt discriminatory attitudes towards sex work- The clause ignores the root causes of poverty,
recipients of
ers, something which they had previously been powerlessness,and vulnerability.It allows organisa-
USAID funds to unable to express because it was not politically tions involved with these issues to ignore the reali-
correct to do so. ties,and to discuss sex work from the simple,neu-
oppose
“It was so clear to me that we could not rely on tral de-politicised starting point of ‘it’s because of
prostitution and to others, particularly NGOs, because when the poli- poverty’. The question that is always neglected is:
cy changed they started to tell us that we are just Why is there poverty? Where is all the wealth
prohibit grantees
like small children in a boat that is sinking; we going and who controls it? These questions provid-
from promoting its should not try to go out on the river, because we ed the catalyst for WAC and WNU to investigate in
are not well equipped. They tried to scare us into order to understand the issues in a broader con-
legalisation not registering as an independent organisation,but text.
before that they said you have to be independent. Despite all the recent talk of the United Nations’
This was very confusing because we did not know Millennium Development Goals and so on, poor
what had changed. Some of us thought it was countries are becoming poorer and the rich coun-
maybe the Khmer practice of not allowing others tries richer. Within this context, the sex trade
to rise, because hierarchy is very common here.” expands rapidly because there are fewer and fewer
(ST,Women’s Network for Unity Member,2005) options available to the people of the South,partic-
Womyn’s Agenda for Change (WAC), funded by ularly for women due to their inferior status.
Oxfam, was the only organisation out of seven Cambodia has not escaped this reality. Neo-liberal-
USAID funding recipients in Cambodia that chose ism should be feared more than HIV/AIDs.
to give up its grant rather than discontinue its Neo-liberalism, the economic fundamentalism
empowerment work with sex workers. It contin- touted by the rulers of the world (the United
ued to support their efforts for self-determination States) and their cronies as the model for prosperi-
until they were ready to register as a union, ty and development, is a false model. This system
Women’s Network for Unity (WNU), and manage allows the extraction of resources that flow to the
their own funds. rich countries’ corporations. It is not hard to see
“...why do the Americans hate us so much? For who benefits when one traces where the money is
years we have heard so many people and organisa- and where it is going. The majority of the world’s
tions talk about human rights, and how they want people are losing the power to manage their own
to help landless people, poor people, vulnerable resources, which are rapidly being exhausted.
Co-authored by WOMYN’S people, HIV-positive people, victims of violence. They can no longer control their forests, their
AGENDA FOR CHANGE and Yet they hate us.We are those people.We have suf- schools, communities or health centres or even
WOMEN’S NETWORK FOR UNITY, fered all those things and worse, yet they hate us have a say in their management. The people are
Cambodia and they have developed a policy that discrimi- systematically impoverished by a system that com-
nates against us and punishes us for being poor... modifies and commercialises all life forms and
Trying to survive with the only thing we have left, treats subsistence farming, not as a way of life and
which is our body, is judged as bad by the livelihood for a majority of farmers, but as some-
Americans and they have a policy to discriminate thing that is useless because it is not a money-spin-
against us... Why do they do that?” (SP, Women’s ner.The following extract from a case study shows
Network For Unity Member,2005) the typical result of a system that puts profits
The vast majority of USAID-funded organisations, before humanity:
INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 6 Volume12 Issue4 2005
“My parents could provide for us when we were translates into many families having to choose
young. We had enough rice to eat and then we which child in the family receives an education.In
sold some so we could buy other goods, like salt, a society where gender discrimination, women’s
sauce, prohok (fish paste) and material to make oppression, commercialisation, and commodifica-
clothes. We were not rich but we could survive. I tion are rampant,it is not the girl child who is cho-
and my siblings could go to the forest and collect sen to receive an education. This gives rise to a
firewood and yams, we also went fishing and col- whole generation of young women barely literate
lecting crabs.In the ’90s I remember this started to or illiterate, faced with increasing inability to sur-
change.Everything became expensive, the govern- vive as their families can no longer eke out a liveli-
ment did not buy our rice anymore, we started to hood, who are forced to migrate in search of
produce less because it became very expensive to income to sustain their families. This road is nar-
grow, we needed to use more inputs like fertiliser, row and has few alternatives. Young women with
water and pesticides and we borrowed to do this. little knowledge and few skills in search of employ-
We could not go to the forest anymore, we had to ment in a society that provides minimal options to
buy firewood, because the company had guards its poor mean that these women end up in either a Womyn’s Agenda
and they would threaten us if we went near there. factory or a brothel. A few may find work in the
for Change (WAC),
I could see that my parents could not support us households of wealthier urban families, in what
easily. We needed more income to live, so as the amount to bonded conditions.Nothing offers them funded by Oxfam,
eldest child I left the village to find work.” (SP, a future.
was the only
Women’s Network for Unity Member,2004) Yet the rulers of the world and their instruments
How is this different from the lives led by poor of subjugation insist on poor countries adopting organisation out of
people in the past? In the past,people were able to their frameworks, which have been proven to be
access natural resources. They used natural the wrong model for development. seven USAID
resources to supplement or replace staple diets “...all of us hoped that with peace in Cambodia funding recipients
during months of food shortages.This is no longer things would get better. Our parents told us that
possible.Governments have succumbed to and col- this is how life works,but we can see that in each in Cambodia that
laborated with the World Bank and International village it is not just one family or one daughter that
chose to give up
Monetary Fund to implement policies whose con- leaves... it is almost every house. They leave
ditions worsen the lives of people. These are pri- because of the same set of reasons;just the order its grant rather
vatisation, trade liberalisation, and deregulation. changes.It can start because of a health reason and
than discontinue
For the majority of rural people this means that the debts grow, or debts from having to purchase
they lose their land to those who have the means food,or a debt to purchase fertiliser.”(SS,Womyns its empowerment
to buy it up under privatisation.They have to bor- Agenda For Change,2005)
work with sex
row money at high interest rates to produce rice. Sex work is a way of survival not just for under-
Their farming inputs, such as fertilisers and pesti- privileged women but also for the families that rely workers
cides, are continually rising in price. Often they on them. In the South women’s bodies are both
have to pay for the water to irrigate their fields. If goods and services to be traded and exploited, for
they are lucky enough to get a good yield, which labour,sex,and experiments.
most are not, they can still barely feed a family. If
there is a drought or flood, they lose everything Womyn’s Agenda for Change is an NGO advocat-
except for the debt,which they still have to pay to ing for groups affected by globalisation and
the NGO and/or the moneylender,both at interest poverty in Cambodia, especially sex workers and
rates that are usurious by any standard. With the workers in the garment industry. Women’s
privatisation of health, they can no longer afford Network for Unity is a sex workers’ union in
health care. If they seek treatment in extreme cir- Cambodia,with more then 5,000 members
cumstances, they have to borrow more money or
sell part or all of their land in order to pay the bills. workers of the world unite workers of the world unite workers of
This results in a perpetual cycle of debt.Debt and the world unite workers of the world unite workers of the world
poverty combine to create fertile conditions for unite workers of the world unite workers of the world unite
exploitation,discrimination,and violence. workers of the world unite workers of the world unite workers of
“...after my mother became very sick, I knew
the world unite workers of the world unite workers of the world
that I had to be the one to go and look for money
unite workers of the world unite workers of the world unite
because my brother had to stay home and work in
workers of the world unite workers of the world unite workers of
the field. He was now the head of household
because my father died from AIDs.My younger sis- the world unite workers of the world unite workers of the world
ter had to stay home and look after my mother. unite workers of the world unite workers of the world unite
The younger children had to help my eldest broth- workers of the world unite workers of the world unite workers of
er,so it left me to find a job,to pay for the doctor’s the world unite workers of the world unite workers of the world
fees and buy food.In Phnom Penh I could not find
unite workers of the world unite workers of the world unite
a job. I was happy to be a servant, but because I
workers of the world unite workers of the world unite workers of
did not know someone, no one would take me in,
the world unite workers of the world unite workers of the world
so after one month that I was sleeping in the park,
I met some girls who told me I could use my body workers of the world unite workers of the world unite workers of
with men. I came to the city to find work to help the world unite workers of the world unite workers of the world
my mother with her illness that she got from my unite workers of the world unite workers of the world unite
father,and now I have the same illness as her.”(SM, workers of the world unite workers of the world unite workers of
Women’s Network for Unity Member,2004) www.global-labour.org
the world unite workers of the world unite workers of the world
The downsizing of public services means fewer
unite workers of the world unite workers of the world unite
teachers,fewer nurses,and fewer doctors.Schools
are informally subsidised by the community,which workers of the world unite workers of the world unite workers of
Page 7 Volume12 Issue 4 2005 INTERNATIONAL union rights
FOCUS❐ SEX WORKERS ORGANISATION
Sex work: European
legal frameworks
Conference report: THE International Committee on the Rights of have also been seizing condoms as evidence,there
Sex Workers in Europe organised a confer- is a strong disincentive for sex workers and their
sex work,human
ence on Sex Work, Human Rights, Labour clients to carry them, resulting in riskier sexual
rights,labour and and Migration in Brussels from15-17 October.The practices. Many of the conference participants
event brought together sex workers and allies from noted that other European countries, including
migration
Europe and elsewhere – including trade unionists, Finland and the UK, are considering drafting simi-
anti-trafficking activists and human rights experts – lar legislation, and urged sex worker groups and
for discussions of laws,policies and strategies,cul- their allies to unite in opposition to such propos-
minating in a day of meetings at the European als.
Parliament, and finally a march through the city Several sex workers from France commented on
streets. the impact of the 2003 law on Domestic Security
Much debate centred on comparisons between that was proposed and promoted by Nicolas
different legal frameworks in Europe. Stephanie Sarkozy, the Minister of the Interior. The law cre-
Klee, a German sex worker, described the ates a misdemeanour of ‘passive solicitation’,allow-
strengths and weaknesses of the law passed in that ing police to arrest and prosecute anyone who is
country in 2002.She noted that, on the one hand, offering to sell sexual services. The determination
it allocates rights and responsibilities around the of whether or not she is, in fact, soliciting may be
sale of sexual services in several important ways. based on a reading of her dress and her attitude,
For example, it creates obligations for sex workers which,many participants noted,was a violation of
to pay taxes and register themselves;with respect core liberties.
to clients, it clarifies that they may not deny pay- A plenary session on collaborations between sex
ment of an agreed price to sex workers on the workers and allies was an insight into both current
grounds that they were not satisfied; in terms of and historic partnerships. Gail Pheterson,
employers,it imposes a duty to pay health care and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University
grant paid leave to sex workers they employ.Klee of Picardie,and Margo St James,founder of the San
identified several problems also, including the fact Francisco-based sex worker rights group Call Off
that the law makes no provision for migrant sex Your Old Tired Ethics (COYOTE) described a per-
work through the amendment of immigration regu- sonal history of alliances between sex workers and
lations. Furthermore, implementation of the law’s supporters spanning several decades. Pheterson
provisions has been imperfect and inconsistent. described, for example, advocacy efforts in
The lack of outreach and training by the state has support of a sex workers’ group in the Nether-
meant that sex workers’ inexperience with the lands, Red Thread, by an allies’ group calling itself
labour rights framework and distrust of state has Pink Thread. The Pink Thread argued that there
inhibited their enjoyment of the protections that could not be freedom for any woman until there
the law affords.Also,the law has been implement- was freedom for sex workers, and attempted to
ed in different ways in different regions of shape common ground with feminists, pointing
Germany: thus, while Berlin has interpreted it in
ways that are largely favourable to sex workers, Discussion about positive
Cologne has used it to institute a severe ‘pleasure experiences of sex work is not
tax’that applies to the sex industry alone. in conflict with a discussion
Jesper Bryngemark, an activist from Sweden, regarding problematic working
highlighted the provisions of the abolitionist law conditions. Many workers in
passed there in1999,and its impact.The law states different industries may love
that, while the selling of sex is not illegal, buying their work but battle day-to-
sex is. The law has resulted in many sex workers day with the conditions under
leaving the streets and seeking other spaces for sex which they do that work. For example,when a school-
work, including advertising on the Internet. teacher says “I have too many pupils per class,I have
However, those who do not have other options too much paperwork to do, our school doesn’t have
ASHWINI SUKTHANKAR is besides street-based sex work have experienced enough money,but I ultimately love my work and find
Director of the International great hardship. For example, the increased police it rewarding”, they are celebrated and respected for
Commission for Labour Rights surveillance has meant that undocumented sex their passion in their work despite the difficult condi-
and co-editor of this edition workers are at even greater risk of being appre- tions. Because many people do not believe sex work-
of IUR hended and deported.Also,the heavy emphasis on ers can genuinely enjoy their work,the positive expe-
enforcing the law and prosecuting clients has riences workers may have are often ignored. In order
meant that sex workers have frequently found to have a balanced debate on sex work, however,
themselves becoming unwilling participants in these positive experiences too must be recognised
investigations, sometimes even filmed and strip- and acknowledged.
searched by police hoping to secure evidence of a Ruth Frost,striptease artist,London
transaction of money for sex. And, since police
INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 8 Volume12 Issue4 2005
out that society’s failure to recognise women’s
The Anti-Trafficking Centre (ATC),a non-governmental
unpaid domestic labour as work could be analo-
organisation,works to eradicate trafficking in human
gised to the lack of recognition for sex work. The
beings, particularly women and children from Serbia
Pink Thread also pointed to the ways in which any
and Montenegro and the region by tackling the causes
woman who is sexually non-conforming can be
of trafficking,such as gender-based violence,poverty,
labelled ‘whore’,whether or not she sells sex.
unemployment and lack of opportunities.
Martin Smith, head of organising at the British
ATC provides peer education,information and train-
union GMB, and Ana Lopes, a member of one of
ing to young women and men through which the
GMB’s affiliates, the International Union of Sex
organisation aims at empowering youth to take new
Workers (IUSW), spoke of coming together on the
roles in the society ie. become active citizens of the
basis of the understanding that the right to be rep-
society they live in. ATC also works on the questions
resented by a union is fundamental. Smith did Sex workers
that are exceptionally important and interconnected –
point out a number of the limitations in the rela-
the issues of nationalism and militarism,responsibility desperately need
tionship between a small, autonomous group of
and facing the past about war crimes committed in
workers like the IUSW, with limited resources for access to social
the last decades in the former Yugoslavia. These
organising,and a large,bureaucratic institution.He
issues are important to understand because they dic- protections,health
noted also the numerous barriers to organising,
tate the political climate of the country within which
including concerns about confidentiality,migration care and pensions
programmes dealing with the root causes of traffick-
status, isolation, and competitiveness in some sec-
ing are being implemented.
tors.He also pointed out the semi-legality of some
ATC also works directly with sex workers providing
sectors as a hurdle – for example, while several
information on possible dangers of trafficking in
strip joints have signed recognition agreements
human beings and standing as a mediator between
with GMB, brothels, which are illegal in the UK,
institutions and associations and the sex worker com-
pose a problem.At the same time,he also pointed
munity. Due to being marginalised by society, sex
to the numerous benefits accompanying unionisa-
workers are one of the vulnerable groups to traffick-
tion, such as the ways in which it forced a public
ing and in these respect ATC developed programmes
acceptance of sex work as legitimate work, and
with the aim of improving conditions for sex workers
shifted the debate from the realm of morality to a
themselves.
labour rights framework.
ATC’s participation in the conference was vital for
Finally, Patricia Kaatee from Amnesty Inter-
making new links with sex workers and sex worker
national, Norway and Liv Jessen, head of the Pro
rights activists across Europe. With its repressive and
Centre, a sex worker group in Oslo, described the
discriminatory policies towards prostitution, Serbian
impact of Amnesty having chosen a sex worker
society is far from having a movement of sex workers
rights activist for its annual human rights award,in
demanding labour rights. In this respect, learning
the context of the organisation’s Stop Violence
about the strategies used for building a movement in
Against Women campaign.Liv Jessen,the recipient
different countries was a valuable resource that I
came back with.
According to estimates by the German federal govern-
Jelena Djordjevic
ment in Germany,about 400,000 women are working
co-founder,Anti-Trafficking Centre,Belgrade
as sex workers. Every day,up to1.2 million men seek
the sexual services of prostitutes.
Those figures show clearly:in many ways,prostitu- of the award, talked about the ways in which the
tion is of major social and economic importance. But award helped create a space to be able to chal-
nevertheless, in most parts of society sex work is a lenge the idea that all prostitution is violence
taboo. Therefore and because of discrimination against women.
against prostitution and prostitutes, working condi- For labour movements, it is worth highlighting
tions in this industry are without regulation and are one of the opinions that was expressed repeatedly
therefore indecently bad. Hypocrisy in society con- over the course of the conference. Many confer-
cerning prostitution makes it difficult for female sex ence participants argued persuasively in favour of
workers (and male sex workers as well),to declare in the recognition of sex work as both a job and a
public what kind of job they are doing. profession,in spite of the fears of the possible neg-
For two years in Germany we have had a new law ative impact of regulation by the state. One of the
on prostitution. Under this law,prostitution no longer benefits that would accompany state recognition,
is against public policy. The law was aimed at improv- many sex workers noted,was access to desperately
ing the legal and social situation of those working vol- needed social protections, such as health care and
untarily as prostitutes. Prostitution as a job opens a pension benefits.The lingering question was,what
new field of activities for ver.di,as a service workers kind of legal framework could be proposed that
union. Ver.di’s working group on prostitution devel- would extend these benefits simultaneously to
oped a support and advice scheme for sex workers as migrant sex workers?
well as a sample employment contract in this field.
This scheme includes individual legal support for
prostitutes with respect to questions of labour laws
and taxation.
Prostitution is an industry with extremely high rates
of exploitation and violence. Ver.di therefore takes
sides with the prostitutes against exploitation and vio-
lence,concentrating on their rights and interests.
Emilija Mitrovic
Projektbüro Arbeitsplatz Prostitution,Hamburg
Page 9 Volume12 Issue 4 2005 INTERNATIONAL union rights