Today, GATE joins sex workers, allies and activists globally in recognizing 17thDecember, the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Trans sex workers are disproportionately affected by violence, with sex workers making up more than 60% of reported killings of trans and gender diverse people whose profession is known, according to the TVT Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) project.
Violence perpetrated against sex workers is disproportionately aimed at the least protected people in our society: trans women, people of color, drug users, and refugees. The intersection of these communities with Key Populations in the global HIV/AIDS response cannot be ignored.
The criminalization and stigmatization of sex work deepens the marginalization that trans and gender diverse people face. All trans and gender diverse people deserve access to safe and meaningful work, no matter what that work is. GATE supports the statement from NSWP, in particular the demand for actions to be taken to ensure respect for the rights of sex workers.
GATE joins the voices of trans and sex worker organization and activists around the world calling for the urgent decriminalization of sex work and an end to legal oppression, equal protection from law enforcement and criminal justice systems, and end to the use of condoms as ‘evidence’ of sex work, as this prevents the practice of safe sex, and equal access to rights-based health and social services for sex workers.
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