Decrim now world news digest for April 2025

Sex work advocates push for changes in Nevada policing

USA, Las Vegas

April 4, 2025

Sex work advocates from across the country gathered at UNLV on Friday to push for changes regarding both state policies and preconceptions of the field.

The symposium, with various guest speakers, discussed possible avenues to add further protections for these workers, such as through bills like Nevada Assembly Bill 209, which was introduced in February of this year and would protect sex workers from criminal liability.

“The general argument we see against why these networks shouldn’t exist is ‘where sex work exists, trafficking can prosper, ’” Kimberly Fuentes with the Sex Worker Outreach Project in Los Angeles said. “If anything, it’s made things more safe for people who are choosing to do things out of reasons like poverty.”

“What we see time and time again is this judicial unwillingness to take claims of victimization seriously by folks who are engaged in sex work at any level,” Courtney Cross with the Survivor Representation and Advocacy Clinic said. “We want them to be immune from arrest ranging from sex work to drug possession.”

UNLV professor of Sociology Barb Brents researched this area for nearly 40 years and said criminalizing sex work is counterproductive to the goal of helping keep sex workers safe, as well as helping those who want to get out do so.

“The problem is that research says sex workers don’t trust the police. They don’t trust even medical professionals,” she said. “The best policy could be made if we listen to sex workers and include them in the policy-making process.”

Source portal 8newsnow.com

Calls to legalise sex work as Limerick remembers slain Geila Ibram on her anniversary

Ireland, Limerick

April 4, 2025

‘Sex workers deserve human rights just like anyone else’

On the second anniversary of the brutal killing of Geila Ibram, Lucy Smyth from Ugly Mugs, a support organisation for sex workers, shared concerns about the lack of safety for sex workers in Limerick.

During an interview with the Irish Independent, Ms Smyth described the ongoing challenges faced by the sex work community, the failure of authorities to prioritise their safety, and the stigma that prevents real change.

Ms Ibram’s death on April 4, 2023 prompted a nationwide search for a suspect who fled the jurisdiction after her killing.

According to Ms Smyth, there was little to no communication with the sex work community after the incident: “We were very disappointed about the police response to that, and we still are.”

In the hours and days after the Romanian mother-of-four’s death, Limerick’s sex worker community had to rely on each other for safety as they say the criminalisation of sex work effectively discouraged them from going to local gardaí.

Using the Ugly Mugs platform, they were able to circulate warnings about a suspect’s description from doorbell footage at Ms Ibram’s apartment on Dock Road.

“That was a case which showed how sex workers rely on each other to keep safe,” Ms Smyth added.

Limerick is a city notorious for violence against sex workers. “It’s is a particularly bad location,” Ms Smyth remarked.

Photo: Geila Ibram

Source portal independent.ie

Sex workers of Bangladesh deserve labour rights

Bangladesh, Dhaka

April 26, 2025

On Saturday, April 26, 2025, the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission submitted its report to the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Professor Muhammad Yunus.

The Commission members met the Chief Adviser at the State Guest House Jamuna and submitted the report. In November last year, the interim government formed a 10-member Women’s Affairs Reform Commission. In this report, the Commission proposes the labour rights of sex workers. Sex work, like any other profession, should be recognised and protected by labour rights. However, some people and groups are totally against it.

On 1st May 2025, the HIV/ AIDS Research and Welfare Centre (HARC), Bangladesh, called for a meeting with sex workers at the organisation’s Khilgaon premises in Dhaka and showed their solidarity to get labour rights for sex workers. It should be mentioned that HARC has been advocating for sex workers’ labour rights since 2022. They also discussed in the meeting why it’s important for sex workers.

 HARC mentioned; Sex workers, like individuals in any other profession, deserve labour rights to ensure their safety, dignity, and access to justice.

Here are some key reasons HARC mentioned why this is essential:

Protection from Exploitation and Abuse: Without labour rights, sex workers are often vulnerable to exploitation, harassment, and violence. Recognising their work as legitimate provides a framework to protect them from such abuses.

Access to Health and Social Services: Criminalisation and stigma often prevent sex workers from accessing essential health care, legal aid, and other social services. Labour rights can help bridge this gap, ensuring they receive the necessary support.

Economic Empowerment: By acknowledging sex work as legitimate labour, workers can access benefits like fair wages, contracts, and workplace protections, empowering them economically.

Reduction of Stigma: Granting labour rights helps challenge societal stigma, promoting respect and dignity for sex workers as individuals contributing to the economy.

Source portal tbsnews.net

Heera Mandi’s Lights Are Going Out: India-Pakistan Crisis Sends Sex Work Into Hiding

Pakistan, Lahore

April 30, 2025

As India-Pakistan tensions intensify following the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, fallout is reaching unexpected corners of Pakistan’s urban landscape — including Lahore’s centuries-old red-light district, Heera Mandi. Known for its cultural legacy and complex socio-economic dynamics, the area is now under mounting strain, with clients vanishing, incomes plunging, and sex work shifting rapidly to virtual platforms.

The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and closure of the Attari-Wagah border have deepened inflation, disrupted trade, and strained public resources. With the country’s agricultural sector projected to shrink by 30–40 per cent, poverty rates are expected to climb — pushing more women into survival sex work. This influx is already flooding urban markets like Lahore, increasing competition in areas such as Heera Mandi.

Military mobilisations or terror threats may lead to curfews and restricted movement in Lahore, further hurting business. During such periods, clients from other neighbourhoods or cities avoid travelling to Heera Mandi, and regulars — including police and army personnel from nearby stations such as Anarkali Cantonment and Lahori Gate — stop visiting altogether.

Even before the current crisis, Heera Mandi had been in decline due to digital disruption, government crackdowns, and changing social norms. Now, with fears of war and rising surveillance, more sex workers are turning to encrypted apps and social media platforms like Facebook and Locanto to discreetly connect with clients. The shift from physical to virtual sex work is accelerating, driven by both necessity and fear.

Adding to this is the diversion of military spending, which could mean reduced funding for social welfare schemes. This will only exacerbate conditions in vulnerable areas like Heera Mandi, where women depend not just on income but also on access to basic health and safety support.

Historically, Heera Mandi — which literally means “diamond market" — dates back to the Mughal era. Once a centre for classical dance and music near the Lahore Fort, it evolved into a prominent red-light area during colonial times, patronised by nobility and military personnel alike. Over time, its courtesan culture gave way to more commercial forms of sex work, even as it retained deep ties to Lahore’s cultural identity. Today, that legacy stands at risk.

Caught between geopolitical tensions, economic desperation, and a rapidly digitising world, Heera Mandi’s future looks increasingly uncertain — its decline hastened not just by war fears but by a perfect storm of survival, stigma, and state neglect.

Source portal news18.com