Past Events
Roundtable Discussions in Southern Africa: Rights Not Rescue
| Event Date: | April 1, 2009 |
SHARP and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa hosted roundtable discussions with sex workers in Botswana and Namibia to discuss the findings and recommendations from the report Rights Not Rescue: A Report on Female, Trans, and Male Sex Workers' Human Rights in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. The report, commissioned by OSI, concludes that female, transgender, and male sex workers face widespread and frequent human rights violations at the hands of government agents including police and public health and school officials, as well as from clients and the general public.
More than 100 sex workers participated in these discussions and articulated steps to start addressing the report findings on human rights abuses. Participants stressed that human rights violations had directly and negatively impacted the health status of sex workers, in addition to decreasing access to appropriate health services. This is particularly grave in a region that has seen the highest rates of HIV prevalence in the world.
Among the many suggestions, the solutions that were prioritized include:
- Create safe spaces for sex workers to organize, share experiences, and support each other.
- Support the establishment of sex worker-led organizations or groups to develop needed programs and advocacy activities.
- Ensure the provision of quality and appropriate health services in a safe, non-judgmental manner.
- Improve relationships with police and provide a mechanism for sex workers to address complaints against the police.
