AIDS2024: Munich

January 9th, 2024 · · Conferences No comments - Tags: ,

Sex workers everywhere organize to address the impact of HIV/AIDS.  Representatives and advocates for sex workers choose to attend the International AIDS Conference so that pertinent and accurate information can be provided to the sex worker community that will help in accessing resources that are needed.  As sex workers, we also attend this conference because it is one of the very few opportunities we have to network with our colleagues from all over the world and also to form new connections to learn and to inspire.  We have supported sex workers’ attendance at the International AIDS Conference for more than 20 years and are here to help our community as much as we can.

The International AIDS Conference is a very large event and can be daunting.  Sex workers have organized protests and actions about specific issues at the conference over the years and have demanded change from the conference itself.  If issues arise that you would like to address at the AIDS2024 you can email (hivaidsbppp@gmail.com) at any time and we will do our best to connect you with the information you need.

This year the International AIDS Conference will be held in Munich, Germany from July 22nd to July 26th, 2024.  The conference can be attended in person or virtually.  The AIDS2024 conference will include people living with, affected by and working with people living with HIV.  The conference will provide lessons learned for the past 40 years.  

Apply to present your work or organize a workshop at the Global Village – Applications are due January 23, 2024. The exact time applications are due on that day is unknown, so get your application in as early as possible. If you are a representative of the movement for the rights of sex workers and people in the sex work trade and need help applying please email BPPP January 13, 2023 at hivaidsbppp@gmail.com and we will try to assist you in the best way possible and/or refer you to one of our partner groups from our coalition.

Apply to present your work via an abstract submission – This process opens November 15, 2023 and closes January 23, 2024. For additional information about abstract submission contact the AIDS2024 abstract team at abstract@aids2024.org. Our community is often shut out of the main conference as abstract presenters.

Scholarships – Scholarship applications open November 15, 2023 and closes January 23, 2024.  We recommend getting your application in the day before to avoid any confusion with the AIDS2024 system closing early across time zones (many people have missed out in the past because the system closed early, don’t miss your chance to go to Munich). Applications are accepted through conference accounts only.  To create an account go to https://profile.aids2024.org/. Check out our webinar recording from 2018 with tips about how to apply and be successful. When will you hear about the outcome of your application? Scholarship recipients will be announced in early April 2024.

Want to learn more about International AIDS Conferences from the past and/or more about the ways in which sex workers are kept out or limited at this event, please check out our links from previous years.

Navigating AID2022 (first steps) by Beyonce K

Navigating AIDS2020 (first steps)

HIV2020: why? how?

Sex Workers Unite for AIDS2018

Open letter to the Media – Educate Yourselves!

December 10th, 2023 · · Media Analysis No comments - Tags:

Open letter to the Media – Educate Yourselves!

The Desiree Alliance, The Black Sex Worker Collective, Outlaw Project, New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance, and the Best Practices Policy Project is partnering with the Center for HIV Law and Policy-CHLP to bring attention to the media’s portrayal of sex work and HIV. Recent articles by mainstream media have once again depicted sex workers as disease vectors and the bearers of transmission. Their ignorance is insulting and not factual. Information put out by the media is outdated and dangerous, not only to all sex workers, but especially to sex workers living with HIV and to anyone who lives with HIV. The language put forth is nothing new. It’s been a tired trope anytime that sex work and HIV are in the same room. In this day of technology, it would seem those representing the media would do an elementary Google search on what science has done for the HIV epidemic; it’s that simple. Instead, we read articles with language that still interprets HIV as a death sentence. The percentages of “Knowingly giving” or , “Knowingly spreading” or “Knowingly concealing” or “Knowingly infected”, etc., is virtually non-existent in any population. The repercussions of this language in print does nothing but create stigma, bad laws, and perpetuates violence against sex worker communities. 

As a coalition of sex worker rights organizations, we have fought back against harmful language and laws used against us. We work hand-in-hand with organizations such as CHLP to eradicate laws that create criminalization and prevent PLWHA from leading healthy and productive lives. Journalists are bound to report on facts not opinions. Leave that for the Op-eds. Educate yourselves! 

CSW68 Coalition Statement

October 29th, 2023 · · Reports No comments - Tags:

Earlier this year BPPP was granted consultative status with the United Nations. This means that we may now send in reports to the Commission on the Status of Women about the inclusion of sex workers and related communities.

In October 2023 BPPP submitted our first official statement using our consultative status. This statement was completed with the Sex Worker Coalition, a formal group of global multi-organizational sex worker rights groups, that includes Desiree Alliance, the Outlaw Project, New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance, BPPP and The Black Sex Worker Collective. Our advocacy focus is on gender-related and human rights related processes, including several U.N. committees such as the Commission on the Status of Women, CEDAW, CERD, and the Generation Equality process.

The Commission on the Status of Women’s 68th Session priority theme, “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective” provides an opportunity for the international community to address the specific economic and financial struggles of all, including sex workers. The review theme for the Commission on the Status of Women’s 68th Session regarding, “Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls” also provides an opportunity to address the needs of sex workers. Read the complete statement via PDF.

Queer and Trans Ugandans combat state violence in the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

September 29th, 2023 · · Articles No comments - Tags: , , ,

Introduction

Uganda inherited its hostility to homosexuality from British Colonial law. As a result Uganda is now one of the many former colonies that perpetuate harm against Trans persons (particularly women) by criminalizing gender non-conforming persons and persons who engage in sex work (one of few viable options for Trans persons to earn wages in Uganda), as well as their allies. Uganda’s policy has caused an increase in gender based violence which has disrupted utilization and access to basic sexual health services including HIV prevention programs. 

Ugandan Trans Rights activist, Beyonce Karungi, has organized on the ground in Uganda for over 15 years. This article is written by Beyonce Karungi, Toyin Gayle-Sutherland, and  Zee Xaymaca. The report is informed by Beyonce’s experience and reports from Trans women who reside and work in Uganda.  Hope and resilience are key, however Trans women, many of whom identify as sex workers, have had to get creative about meeting their needs under a hostile regime.

The Problem

This Act criminalizes same sex conduct of any kind with the potential of prison time, fines, and, for repeat offences, the death penalty.

On May 29, 2023, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into effect the Anti-Homosexuality Act.  This Act criminalizes same sex conduct of any kind with the potential of prison time, fines, and, for repeat offences, the death penalty.  The law stipulates that consent is irrelevant to prosecution and that persons who knowingly let their premises be used by others “for the purposes of homosexuality” commit an offence. It also levies harsh penalties for witnessing or presiding over a same sex wedding ceremony, advocating for recognition of LGBTQ+ rights or for rendering services or assistance to LGBTQ+ persons. 

This law departs from international standards for human rights in its onslaught against personal autonomy and the right to free association. Trans persons in Uganda now face barriers to accessing public transportation, gathering in community and earning wages, due to legal threats against one’s person. Crucially, individuals are not able to access health care services such as HIV testing, HIV treatments, Tuberculosis treatments and other vital public health interventions.  This has led to a reported rise in communicable diseases within vulnerable communities.

Targeting those who help the Trans community means that organizations in Uganda that operated as safe providers are now forced to turn their backs on Trans persons for fear of long prison sentences and hefty fines.

Despite great care taken in gender nonconforming sex worker communities, Individuals also face an increase in arrests, discrimination and police abuse, extortion, loss of employment and eviction from landlords because of their perceived sexual orientation since allyship is legally prohibited. Targeting those who help the Trans community means that organizations in Uganda that operated as safe providers are now forced to turn their backs on Trans persons for fear of long prison sentences and hefty fines. The Ugandan government has broken its commitments to many International human rights agreements including The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 

Uganda is a tough place to be an advocate. In addition to the Anti-Homosexuality Act, the government has restricted internet access and censored local media in an attempt to prevent uprisings. This measure means that advocates have a hard time keeping in touch with their communities and their allies outside Uganda. 

Assessing Solutions

The ease with which this Act came to pass is indicative of a deep seated hostility toward LGBTQ+ persons’ rights to freedom of expression, privacy, and non-discrimination.  The Ugandan government has refused to honor its obligation to protect all citizens from civil and human rights violations. However, there is little in the way of direct legislative action that can remedy the situation. The way the anti-homosexuality law is written means that any advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights is now illegal under the “promoting homosexuality” statutes. 

We are left with a sticky situation where those who need aid, and have been barred from accessing it due to their gender or sexual orientation will, regardless of sanctions, not have access to necessities. Meanwhile, many who need aid will face new barriers as a result of the sanctions.

Several large non-governmental organizations have cut financial aid to Uganda. The intent is often that the government will feel pressure from a disgruntled public in meeting its mandates and therefore change course. However, the Ugandan president has been adamant that he will not be swayed. We are left with a sticky situation where those who need aid, and have been barred from accessing it due to their gender or sexual orientation will, regardless of sanctions, not have access to necessities. Meanwhile, many who need aid will face new barriers as a result of the sanctions. There is admittedly little to be done individually in the way of direct action and the donor approach of cutting off funding, while understandable, is not without its harms. Beyonce encourages allies around the world to keep this atrocity in the headlines and sustain the outcry that has sprung up around it. Protesting, social media posts, and of course donations to organizations with ties to grassroots organizations are tools of solidarity with our Ugandan siblings. 

The Best Practices Policy Project is working with Beyonce Karungi to keep informed on the backlash against LGBTQ+ and Trans sex worker communities in various parts of Uganda. As circumstances deteriorate, we try to support grassroots organizations with resources that can help mitigate healthcare access issues, i.e. money for private transportation or higher service fees for Trans persons. It is our responsibility as onlookers to stand in solidarity with Ugandan LGBTQ+ persons, not just in the acute phase of these moments of persecution but over time as our siblings on the ground recreate their normalcy and mount their resistance. Donate to BPPP’s Uganda support fundraiser at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/uganda. 

Further reading

World Bank halts Loans to Uganda

Jerving S. Uganda’s “anti-homosexuality” bill already affecting care. Lancet. 2023 Apr 22;401(10385):1327-1328. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00814-0. PMID: 37088085. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37088085/


Full text of the Anti Homosexuality act https://www.parliament.go.ug/sites/default/files/The%20Anti-Homosexuality%20Act%2C%202023.pdf