Rights, Not Violence !

To:  To state and its institutions

Case study 1: A young woman was gang raped, she reported the rape to the police, the report was recorded but there was no investigation, no charges and nothing happened; at the time of the event she was in an area known for prostitution.

Case study 2: After agreeing to consensual sex in exchange for favours she was taken to a remote location by her client, beaten and robbed. Because this person is transgender she was afraid to go to the police as she had been abused by them in the past.

Case study 3: A woman was stopped by the police who searched her purse and found 5 condoms. The police detained the women on the suspicion that she was working as a prostitute.

The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (Article 5), and that “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law” (Article 7).

Beatings, sexual violence, corruption, police abuse - sex workers experience higher levels of such violence and crime than other people. The stigmatisation of sex workers by society and public authorities means such violence and crime is often considered as normal, and part of a sex worker’s work and life.

17 December International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers: Don’t turn your head: violence against sex workers is never acceptable!

Because of violence against sex workers thousands of fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, partners and friends suffer.
In support of all those who have experienced violence we the undersigned demand that violence against sex workers must be recognised and sanctioned as a crime.

We demand that all sex workers, like anyone else, be equally protected by the state.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Rights, Not Violence ! Petition to To state and its institutions was created by Sex Workers Rights Advocacy Network and written by Marija Tosheva (hops@hops.org.mk).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.