East Godavary, Andhra Pradesh, India
December 17: International Day to end violence against Sexworkers has been
observed by Narisaksham in East Godavary, Andhra Pradesh, India.
About 200 sex workers including transgenders gathered in Rajamundry, a
commercial town. The program was organized by Narisaksham, a sex workers
organization, which is part of the district network of sex workers collectives
Godavari Mahila Samakhya, expressing solidarity with other sex workers all over
world. The collective has a crisis intervention team which addresses issues of
violence/harassment especially from police and trafficking of girls with the
support of human rights oriented lawyers and citizens forums. The lawyers and
social leaders also participated in the event. A. Padmavathy, convenor of the
crisis intervention team presented the activities done during the last one year
including violence and trafficking. They have intervened in more than 50
violence issues and saved 12 trafficked girls in the last year. They also
felicitated the sex worker activists and the violence victims who came forward
to challenge false cases booked by police and the woman who registered a
complaint against police in the human rights commission.
They organized dance and other entertainments to overcome the pain and trauma.
Celebration is a form of resistance for those who are denied of it. This brings
visibility of sex workers and dance girls in the "recognized public sphere"
leading to assertion of their rights to end violence.
Jayasree. A.K
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