2 Addressing Violence against Sex Workers
The availability of drugs and alcohol in sex work establishments increases the likelihood of people becoming violent towards sex workers working there . Sex workers who consume alcohol or drugs may not be able to assess situations that are not safe for them .
Violence or fear of violence may prevent sex workers from accessing harm reduction , HIV prevention , treatment and care , health and other social services as well as services aimed at preventing and responding to violence ( e . g . legal , health ). Discrimination against sex workers in shelters for those who experience violence may further compromise their safety .
2.1.2 Values and principles for addressing violence against sex workers
Core values
• Promote the full protection of sex workers ’ human rights . This includes the rights to : nondiscrimination ; security of person and privacy ; recognition and equality before the law ; due process of law and the highest attainable standard of health ; employment , and just and favourable conditions of employment ; peaceful assembly and association ; freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention , and from cruel and inhumane treatment ; and protection from violence .
• Reject interventions based on the notion of rescue and rehabilitation . Even when ostensibly focused on minors ( who are not sex workers ), such raids deprive sex workers of their agency ( the choice , control and power to act for themselves ) and increase the likelihood that they will experience violence .
• Promote gender equality by encouraging programme planners and implementers to challenge unequal gender roles , social norms and distribution and control of resources and power . Intervention strategies should aim for more equitable power relationships between sex workers and others in the wider community .
• Respect the right of sex workers to make informed choices about their lives , which may involve not reporting or seeking redress for violence , not seeking violence-related services , or continuing in an abusive relationship .
Programming principles
• Gather information about local patterns of violence against sex workers , and the relationship of violence to HIV , as the basis for designing programmes ( see Chapter 3 , Section 3.2.2 , part A ).
• Use participatory methods . Sex workers should be in decision-making positions where they can engage in processes to identify their problems and priorities , analyse causes and develop solutions . Such methods strengthen programme relevance , build enduring life and relationship skills and help ensure the long-term success of programmes .
• Use an integrated approach in designing interventions . Holistic programmes that include provision of health services , work with the legal and justice sectors and are community-based 4 can have a greater impact on violence against sex workers and the risk of HIV . Such programmes require establishing partnerships with a wide range of groups and institutions .
• Build capacity of programme staff to understand and address the links between violence against sex workers and HIV . Programme staff should be able to respond sensitively to sex workers who experience violence , without further stigmatizing or blaming them . ( See also Chapter 6 , Section 6.2.6 , sub-section on hiring and training staff .)
4 In most contexts in this tool , “ community ” refers to populations of sex workers rather than the broader geographic , social or cultural groupings of which they may be a part . Thus , “ outreach to the community ” means outreach to sex workers , “ community-led interventions ” are interventions led by sex workers , and “ community members ” are sex workers .
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