#EndingAIDS only possible with #sexworkerrights: UN Civil Society Hearing in NYC

April 6th, 2016 · · Fact Sheets, News Archive No comments

Today Derek Demeri, representing SWOP USA, New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance and the Best Practices Policy Project, is attending a civil society hearing convened by the United Nations as part of the preparatory process towards a “high level meeting on HIV/AIDS” that will be held later this year in June. The official purpose of this meeting is to “provide civil society and all relevant stakeholders an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing preparations in a day of interactive panel discussions with Member States and representatives from civil society, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, organizations and networks representing people living with HIV, women, adolescents and young persons and other relevant stakeholders.” For sex worker rights representatives from the United States and beyond, this meeting is another opportunity to raise red umbrellas and state the obvious truth that we cannot “end AIDS” without full and meaningful participation of sex workers in all aspects of policy, HIV service provision, leadership and more. The New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance and the Best Practices Policy Project have created a set of talking points for use during today’s meetings.

BPPP and  NJRUA note that, “globally only a tiny portion of all funding for HIV prevention and treatment activities is given to sex worker-led organizations. This practice must immediately change because we cannot end AIDS without sex workers as equal partners in this effort.” Within the United States sex worker rights organizations, “are also highly marginalized from funding and other resources, a situation made far worse because of the government’s failure to include any approaches to address sex work and HIV in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The US government must adopt a scientifically based rights approach to working with sex workers and provide adequate funding for sex worker led organizations to implement this approach.”

TWEET IT OUT: Nothing About Us Without Us, Decriminalize #sexwork to #endHIV #HLM2016AIDS

Direct HIV $ to #sexworkers in all National HIV Strategies, end the silence #UnitedStates about #sexworkerrights #HLM2016AIDS

VIEW THE UN Civil Society hearing online.

 

UPCOMING CONFERENCE DEADLINES

February 2nd, 2016 · · Uncategorized No comments

AIDS2016: the next International AIDS Conference will be held in Durban, South Africa in July 2016. The deadline to submit an abstract (a presentation in the main conference) or a workshop/Global Village close February 4, 2016 at 5.59 pm EST/2.59 pm Pacific (NB: this is an international deadline and so closes at 11.59 pm European time/CET, do not be fooled into thinking this is midnight US time!). BPPP is currently working on several proposals with community members to highlight HIV policy concerns in the US for sex workers and for cultural events. Contact BPPP if you need any last minute advice or to join us, having your name linked to an abstract or workshop is very important if you wish to get a scholarship.  Scholarships applications are due February 12, 2016 but we advise getting applications in by February 11 if possible because this is an international deadline. Applicants need a reference letter.  If you are a community member, organizer, or volunteer, please contact BPPP if you would like to be considered for  a reference letter by noon EST February 9, 2016.

HIV IS NOT A CRIME II CONFERENCE: Scholarship applications for this ground breaking event on HIV criminalization law and policy are open until February 5, 2016. Applicants need a reference letter. If you are a community member, organizer, or volunteer, please contact BPPP if you would like to be considered for  a reference letter by noon EST February 4, 2016.  HIV is Not a Crime II is three days of workshops and practical trainings on state advocacy, grassroots organizing, criminalization reform messaging, and familiarity with the related legal, medical, media, and public health issues.  Attendees will include advocates living with HIV, community organizers, activists, and experts in public health, law and public policy from across the country.

DESIREE ALLIANCE: Early registration for the much anticipated 2016 Desiree Alliance conference in New Orleans this summer is available until February 28, 2016. If you or your organization are able to register early, this will greatly help Desiree Alliance. Early registration is more than just paying to attend, it supports our sex worker rights movement. Registering is almost as good as a donation to our cause.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT [CLICK IMAGE]

December 12th, 2015 · · Reports No comments

NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

Criminalization & Violence Undermine HIV Prevention & Human Rights Says New Report

December 11th, 2015 · · Press Release, Reports No comments - Tags: , , , , ,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENothingAboutUsWithoutUs

December 11, 2015

Tomorrow at the US Human Rights Network conference in Austin TX, Best Practices Policy Project and Desiree Alliance will be releasing the first ever report in the U.S. on sex workers, rights, and HIV created by sex workers themselves. The first report, Nothing About Us Without Us: Sex Work, Policy, Organizing, Rights, will focus on transgender sex workers.

“Sex workers are part of the solution in addressing HIV, and the U.S. is out of step with global acceptance of the need to bring a human rights focus to the issues of sex work and HIV, while moving away from criminalization,” said Sharmus Outlaw, co-author of the report. “Transgender sex workers are now suffering the effects of the silence about what works to prevent and treat HIV.”

The report finds that the policing of transgender communities is justified in the name of anti-prostitution efforts; and that this policing is directly at odds with scientifically-based HIV prevention and outreach efforts. “All across the U.S., transgender women–especially those of color–are harassed and arrested by police officers as they go about their daily life,” said Monica Jones, a transgender rights organizer from Phoenix, Arizona and advisor to the report. “This policing impacts transgender outreach workers doing essential activities in HIV prevention such as delivering condoms and information to the community. We need to stop the arrest of transgender outreach workers, end the practice of using condoms as evidence, stop policing of medications and end the policing of trans people’s lives so that they can walk down the street and reach health care centers when they need to access HIV related care.”

The report finds transgender people with experience in sex work and the sex trade are much more likely to be living with HIV than transgender people who have never been sex workers, or the general population of the United States. In the District of Columbia, for example, 73% of trans sex workers self report living with HIV. But the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the highest level of policy in the U.S., has been almost entirely silent about sex work and sex work was entirely omitted from the National HIV/AIDS Federal Action Plan released in late 2015.

“As sex workers develop our own research around HIV/AIDS policies, we are connecting with others to rethink and strategize about structural barriers best practices in HIV prevention,” said Cris Sardina of Desiree Alliance. “It is not acceptable to ignore how violence, stigma, and criminalization affect trans women who engage in sex work. Nor can we ignore how policing sex work affects all trans women who are often profiled and arrested as sex workers.”

The report will be released at 3 pm CST December 12 and will be available at http://www.bestpracticespolicy.org/nothing-about-us-without-us/.  The release event will be live streamed on Periscope by @swoplosangeles and social media will use the following #silenceequalsdeath and #advancingrights2015. More information can be found at the Release Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1660187327592533/permalink/1660187340925865/

 

PRESS CONTACTS:
Darby Hickey 202-250-4869 and darbyhickey @ gmail.com

Monica Jones 602-575-9332

Cristine Sardina director @ desireealliance.org