Past Events
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Sex Workers' Health and Rights—What Can Be Done?
| Location: | OSI-New York |
| Event Date: | October 13, 2005 |
| Speakers: | Galina Karmanova, Raminta Stuikyte |
OSI’s Sexual Health and Rights Program (SHARP) hosted a discussion led by Raminta Stuikyte, Secretariat of the Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network, and Galina Karmanova, Chief of Party of the Drug Demand Reduction Program in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Stuikyte presented her work with the "Sex Work, HIV/AIDS, and Human Rights in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia" report, an analysis of research on sex workers showing the economic desperation, surging health risks, discrimination, and violence they experience. The report highlights the growing relationship among sex work, drug use, and HIV/AIDS. Report findings suggest the necessity of focusing on improving the health and well-being of sex workers.
Karmanova discussed the relationship between sex workers and drug use, focusing on the vulnerabilities and needs of female sex workers that differ from the general drug-using population. Karmanova also addressed how the Drug Demand and Reduction Program in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan is assessing the problem, and future plans to provide services related to sex workers.
