The Guyana Sex Work Coalition

1. The Guyana Sex Work Coalition Empowering and Organising Sex Workers towards Achieving and Maintaining Progressive Self- Development and Increased HIV Preventative Actions.

2. Introduction • Welcome to this session on Empowering and organizing sex workers : a group that faces label and discrimination. • Introduction of Panel Members from the GSWC Miriam Edwards, Quincy Mc Ewan and Kushyan Lyken.

3. Quincy Mc Ewan – Peer Educator, member of the Caribbean Sex Work Coalition (CSWC) Challenges faced by Sex Workers

4. Challengesfaced by Sex Workers • Sex work in Guyana is illegal; • Stigma and Discrimination by law enforcement officials, health care providers and wider society; • Police harassment and brutality; • Denial of access to effective health care services;

5. Kushyan Lyken – Social Worker Background of the Guyana Sex Work Coalition (GSWC)

6. Background of GSWC • On the 11th October, 2008 the GSWC was formed. • It was formed as an entity advocating for the human rights of sex workers, inclusive of males, females and transgender. • It was a sex worker led mapping initiative by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC).

7. Mission Our mission as an NGO is to collaborate, co-operate and educate sex workers through meaningful interventions in a humane process to empower them in accessing services provided.

8. Services offered by the GSWC • A 24hours Safe Space; • The services of a Social Worker; • Workshops and sensitization sessions on the Human rights of sex workers with law enforcement officials, health care officials, clients of sex workers, hotel , brothel and bar owners; • Empowerment and capacity building for sex workers, women and girls such as training in Micro Computer studies, cosmetology and costume design.

9. Services offered by the GSWC • HIV/AIDS testing and screening in collaboration with the National Aids Programme Secretariat (NAPS) in Georgetown and rural communities; • Distribution of brochures and pamphlets to Health centers, business places, hotels , brothels and the general population. • Distribution of condoms (male &female) in Georgetown and rural areas.

10. Accomplishments • Establishment of a 24 hours safe space for sex workers; • Conducted Empowerment and capacity building workshops for sex workers in all 10 administrative regions of Guyana; • Annual March to end Violence against Sex Workers ; • Sensitization Training of Law Enforcement Officers and Health Care Professionals;

11. Accomplishments • Sensitization Training with Trans sex workers; • Empowerment sessions with barbers and hair dressers; • Mobile HIV testing in rural communities; • Advocacy on radio, TV and newspapers.

12. Miriam Edwards- Executive Director GSWC, Co- Chair of the Caribbean Sex Work Coalition, Winner of the Juanita Altenburg Award of Excellence 2010 Observations and Recommendations

13. Observations • The perception that sex workers are the persons responsible for the spread of HIV; • The importance of empowering and organizing of sex workers ; • The continued stream of stigma and discrimination that sex workers encounter on a daily basis by the Police, health care providers and wider society; • The challenges that migrant (country to country)sex workers encounter by immigration and health care providers;

14. Recommendations • Sex work should be legalized ; • Increase sex work involvement and control over their working and social conditions; • Implementation of 100 % condom programme; • Involvement of sex workers in prevention campaigns; • Building the capacity of sex workers as humans and citizens as a successful strategy in preventing the spread of HIV;

15. Recommendations • More funding should be given towards programmes for HIV and sex work ; since less than 1% of global funds are geared towards these programmes.