Combating violence against sex workers. International experience

On December 17, 2019, within the framework of the first international conference “Protecting rights of sex workers is protecting human rights”, CO “Legalife-Ukraine” held a press conference “Combating violence against sex workers. International experience”.

In the continuation of the global international campaign “16 Days of Activism”, uniting people and organizations around the struggle to end gender-based violence, CO “Legalife-Ukraine” held a press conference entirely devoted to the experience of preventing violence against women sex workers.

The speakers of the event were the delegates of the first international conference “Protecting rights of sex workers is protecting human rights”:

Kate McGrew – Co-Chair, International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE); Coordinator, Sex Workers Alliance Ireland;

Christine Nagl – Co-Chair, Sexworker.at, Austria;

Miriam Parmanand – Co-Chair, Proud Nederland, Dutch union for (ex) sex workers, Netherlands;

Moderator – Nataliia Isaieva – Director of CO “Legalife-Ukraine”.

Main topics of the press conference:

1. Combating violence against sex workers in the context of state legalization of sex work in Netherlands and Austria;

2. Level of violence against sex workers in countries where the model of criminalization of final demand (the “Scandinavian model”) has been implemented is increasing. Why this is happening? (using the example of Ireland).

Full speeches are on video below

The international human rights conference “Protecting rights of sex workers is protecting human rights” was organized as part of the campaign “December 17 – International Day for the Protection of Sex Workers from Violence and Cruelty” and is sponsored by the Vidrodzhennya Foundation and AIDSFONDS as part of the PITCH program.