Starting now: our panel discussion at UN Conference Centre in Bangkok with partners from @apnsw, @ProjectX_SG, Women's Network for Unity, Aye Myanmar Association & Jagriti Mahila Maha Sangh. What can #CEDAW offer sex workers in Asia Pacific? #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi Win introduces @apnsw, which works for policy change including decriminalisation of sex work. IWRAW Asia Pacific and APNSW work in collaboration on #CEDAW for sex workers' rights. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi Win: Important for the sex worker community to mobilise and solve the problems they face in their daily lives. In Asia Pacific they are criminalised and unprotected by laws, which affects their labour rights and human rights. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Vina from WNU Cambodia: I have often seen sex workers abused, neglected, & discriminated against. This motivates me to be a human rights defender. We want a law that protects our rights at work; the same rights as other people. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange #SexWorkIsWork

Tania from @ProjectX_SG: We want to assist all women in the sex industry, including trans and migrant sex workers. We do outreach, give out condoms, advise on #SRHR and enable anonymous testing. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Bijaya from JMMS Nepal: We do capacity building for sex workers and encourage them to stand up for their rights. We provide paralegal support and assist sex workers who are experiencing situations of violence. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Bijaya: As a sex worker in Nepal I've faced so much violence and stigma. We must do something for our rights. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Myo from AMA: We are working for the sex worker community in Myanmar, especially addressing human rights violations and violence. We also work for access to health, including HIV testing and access to antiretroviral therapy. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Vina from WNU Cambodia: Is being a sex worker wrong? Why is law and policy against us? There is an act to 'maintain public order' which is being used to arrest street-based sex workers. It reflects our patriarchal society. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Vina from WNU Cambodia: Women working in the entertainment sector have no employment contracts. Please consider women's issues when policies are being developed. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Bijaya from JMMS Nepal: We face so many problems. For example, police always arrest us in the street if they know we are sex workers. They ask for bribes and free sex. They threaten to publish our photos in the newspaper. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Bijaya from JMMS Nepal: One of our sex worker sisters was stopped in the street by a police officer, and he beat her. Most of the violence we face is from the police. They treat us as if we are not women, or as if we are very bad women. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Bijaya from JMMS: In Nepal sex work is criminalised. If a sex worker is known to be staying in a house, she can be arrested and the landlord too. If she travels by taxi, she can be arrested and the taxi driver too. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Tania from @ProjectX_SG: In Singapore, we recently met with an MP to discuss issues faced by sex workers: discrimination, unfair treatment. We told him that #SexWorkIsWork. But he was selective about which issues he addressed in parliament. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Myo from AMA: Myanmar still criminalises sex work. We face a lot of violence. Example story: a sex worker was pregnant. She stopped doing sex work during her pregnancy but the police arrested her anyway and she went to jail. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi: @apnsw decided to engage with #CEDAW as the majority of sex workers are women. We should be engaging with women's forums such as #Beijing25. Sex workers struggle to enjoy the rights promised by CEDAW. #FeministsWantSystemChange

Vina from WNU: We submitted a shadow report to #CEDAW on sex workers' rights in Cambodia. Most of the time, mainstream women's rights coalitions exclude sex work so it was important to do it ourselves. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Vina from WNU: We are so grateful that our problems as sex workers in Cambodia were raised by the #CEDAW committee. We met many times to collect sex workers' input, with support from @apnsw and IWRAW Asia Pacific. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Tania: @ProjectX_SG submitted a shadow report to #CEDAW in 2017. It noted that licensed migrant sex workers from approved countries have their passports withheld. At the end of their contracts, they face a lifetime travel ban to Singapore. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Bijaya from JMMS: In 2018 we engaged with #CEDAW for the first time. We held many consultations with sex workers in Nepal. We wrote our shadow report in Nepali then translated it to English. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Audience question about violence against sex workers that comes from tourism. Kay Thi @apnsw: Most violence is committed by the state - police & other uniformed stakeholders. Although clients commit violence, proportion of tourists is unknown #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Audience question about Cambodia's Village Community Safety Act: was it designed with the intent to target sex workers?

Vina: The law addresses drug selling, violence, human trafficking. But it confuses trafficking with consensual sex work.
#Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Bijaya from JMMS: It's an honour for us to be a member of @apnsw. We can raise our local-level voice to the regional and global levels. I am here representing the sex worker community of Nepal because of APNSW. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Audience question: Do you face any opposition from women's groups around sex work & sex work advocacy at the national level?

Bijaya, JMMS: Many women's rights organisations avoid us and don't support us. Unless they want something from us!

#Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Tania: In Singapore, @ProjectX_SG works quite closely with @awarenews. But internationally, many women's rights organisations fail to include sex workers. We are women too! #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Vina from WNU: There are many women's NGOs in Cambodia which do not support sex workers' rights. They are afraid the government would restrict their activities if they included us. They exclude us from training & capacity building.

#Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi: The sex worker community demands decriminalisation, not legalisation. This is because we want to live with human rights and dignity; reduce violence and abuse; and access justice. Decriminalisation will remove criminal records.

#Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi of @apnsw: If sex work is decriminalised, sex workers can report trafficking and can work in collaboration with police and authorities. They will also be able to access health services. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

What gives you hope to continue struggling and organising?

Vina from WNU: Sex workers are starting to demand their rights and use the #CEDAW mechanism. We can use it to demand that the government fulfills its commitment to women's rights.

#Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi, @apnsw: We still face a lot of challenges in our daily lives. We need to continue working in collaboration & supporting each other, & break the silence. In Myanmar, we received a lot of support but people were silent on policy change #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Question: Is there any empowerment done by governments to improve sex workers' lives?

Kay Thi, @apnsw: Does this imply leaving sex work, learning to operate sewing machines or make coffee? That's not what we want. #SexWorkIsWork.

#Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi shares the story of a trans sex worker in India who was given 2 buffalos as an alternative income source to help her leave sex work. But she had to do more sex work in order to feed them and cover their expenses. Finally she decided sex work was enough & gave them back.

Vina, WNU: My first recommendation to the government is to clearly distinguish between trafficking and consensual sex work. This has been an ongoing source of confusion among the government and other NGOs. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Vina, WNU: The government should immediately stop all forms of violence against sex workers. Decriminalise sex work and recognise it as work. Sex workers should additionally be able to access all public services, same as other citizens. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Tania, @ProjectX_SG: Government should be more open to hearing our voices. And don't just hear us - actually take action.

Bijaya, JMMS Nepal: Government should decriminalise sex work.

#Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Myo, AMA Myanmar: We demand basic human rights because sex workers are also human. We don’t want to be left behind. The community should be supported to claim and access their rights. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Sex workers' recommendations to the #CEDAW Committee:

Vina, WNU Cambodia: Listen to sex workers, try to understand sex worker issues, respect their choice, eliminate all forms of violence against women, especially in Concluding Observations
#Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Bijaya, JMMS: We struggled a lot to develop the shadow report, especially with English. #CEDAW is a big international women's human rights framework so it would be great if the Committee also provided facilities for Nepali translation. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Sex workers' recommendations to other human rights movements, including women's rights movement?

Tania, @ProjectX_SG: Be more aware of us. Don’t just understand we exist & include us in a little part of your conversation, but fight with us. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi, @apnsw: Nothing about us without us. When you’re doing something about sex work, doing it without sex workers is not possible. Please include us in your discussion and consultation. We can also help each other. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Kay Thi, @apnsw: Don’t invite sex workers just to tick a box. We want meaningful participation at each and every level. Very few women's rights organisations include sex workers in the right places. Hopefully we can change this together. #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange

Thank you to all who attended our event with @apnsw and friends! To learn more, you can access resources on #CEDAW and sex workers' rights on our website: https://www.iwraw-ap.org/search-resources/?_sf_s=sex%20work #Beijing25 #FeministsWantSystemChange