sex workers' rights | RH Reality Check

Trafficking Report: Less Sensationalism, More Reality

by Melissa Ditmore, Independent consultant

June 23, 2009 - 8:00am (Print)

The State Department's new Trafficking in Persons report suggests that the Obama administration will opt for evidence-based responses to trafficking over putting restrictions on women "for their own good."

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Gates Foundation Program to Fight HIV in India Wasted, Says Forbes India

by Emily Douglas

June 17, 2009 - 3:17pm (Print)

Forbes India today evaluates Avahan, the $258 million Gates Foundation HIV prevention initiative on the ground in India. And the program doesn't fare well.

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Good News On U.S. Anti-Trafficking Policy

by Katherine Franke, Columbia Law School

April 2, 2009 - 7:00am (Print)

The White House's appointment of Luis de Baca to be the head of the Trafficking In Persons office suggests that it appreciates the importance of a harm reduction approach to the problem of trafficking.

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She-roes Visit Washington to Share Victories Working with Women in the Sex Sector

by Jamila Taylor, CHANGE

March 31, 2009 - 7:00am (Print)

Does U.S. foreign policy combat HIV and trafficking, or combat women working in the sex sector?

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Harm Reduction Lessons for Reproductive Justice

by Jaspreet Chowdhary, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum

March 23, 2009 - 7:00am (Print)

Harm reduction is a public health philosophy that emphasizes individual safety, regardless of lifestyle choices, over prohibition. How can this approach make sex work safer?

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Sex Worker Advocates Score Victory Against Stigmatization in India

by Meena Seshu

March 3, 2009 - 10:30am (Print)

Sex workers rights advocates have reason to celebrate this International Sex Workers Rights Day. Last week, an amendment that would have further stigmatized sex workers failed in the Indian Cabinet.

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"Homeland" Security Under Napolitano, Key Player in Fight Against Trafficking

by Katherine Franke, Columbia Law School

February 18, 2009 - 12:40pm (Print)

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and her team are important players in setting a new agenda for fighting human trafficking. But we have reason to be concerned about how they'll do it.

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Resisting the Sex Panic: Sex Workers Struggle for Evidence-Based Regulation in Nevada

by Melissa Gira Grant, Third Wave

February 10, 2009 - 8:00am (Print)

In rural Nevada, the possible expansion of the brothel industry has sex workers hoping to be given a central role in governing their own industry, rather than being seen as at-risk women who require protection from themselves.

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Anti-Sex League Favors "Purity" Over Women's Health

by Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check

January 27, 2009 - 8:00am (Print)

Should anti-trafficking organizations be allowed to receive US funds to serve trafficking victims, while refusing to use that money to provide contraceptive services or information? A new ACLU lawsuit says no.

Follow Amanda Marcotte on Twitter, @amandamarcotte

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Time for Change in the Fight Against Human Trafficking

by Melissa Ditmore and Andrea Ritchie, Urban Justice Center

January 26, 2009 - 8:00am (Print)

President Obama knows that early action on human trafficking could have global impact. He should start by reconsidering the use of raids -- they're not working.

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