LGBTI equality and human rights in Europe and Central Asia

Empowering LGBTI sex workers – new position paper

ILGA-Europe are launching our latest position paper on the rights of LGBTI sex workers.

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Posted: 15 June 2018

Empowerment, combatting exclusion, and ‘nothing about us without us’ – these principles are at the core of our new policy.

Entitled ‘Empowering LGBTI sex workers towards the full respect of their human rights’, it outlines three key steps that we all collectively must take to ensure the rights of sex workers are protected:

  • Combatting structural discrimination and social exclusion of LGBTI people
  • Calling for decriminalisation as a cornerstone for protecting the human rights of sex workers
  • Working towards the full inclusion of the voices of sex workers in the LGBTI community

LGBTI sex workers have always been part of the LGBTI movement; the names of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Riveria are not just historical references, their experiences at Stonewall shaped Pride events and the global LGBTI movement as we know it today. And yet, many sex workers are excluded from modern-day LGBTI activism.

In ILGA-Europe’s view, LGBTI organisations have a key role to play in fighting against stigma affecting LGBTI sex workers, both within and outside the LGBTI community.

This is why ILGA-Europe commit to raising awareness within the LGBTI community on the human rights violations which LGBTI sex workers are facing, and to addressing stigma against sex workers and supporting them to be more visible within the LGBTI community.

  • Read the ILGA-Europe policy on respecting the rights of LGBTI sex workers in full here.

  • On the ILGA-Europe blog, our executive director Evelyne Paradis talks about our new position paper. Read her blog post here.

  • For more information, contact ILGA-Europe Advocacy Director Katrin Hugendubel.