Ensuring Russia ’s Sex Workers’ Rights Essential for Wider Gender Equality

The Russian capital, Moscow. Sex workers in the country say although public opinion about their work is shifting, they still face marginalisation and criminalisation. Credit: Ed Holt/IPSBy Ed HoltBRATISLAVA, Apr 27 2020 (IPS) Despite seeing a shift in attitudes towards them in recent years, Russian sex workers say they continue to struggle with marginalisation and criminalisation which poses a danger to them and the wider public. Sex work is illegal in Russia and, historically, public attitudes to the women, and more recently men, involved in providing it have been predominantly negative, and often virulently hostile. This has led to them being marginalised and with little protection against violence and prejudice not just among the general public and clients, but also the police and wider justice system. However, they say they have seen a change in the last two to three years as some of their work campaigning for rights and awareness of their work, has begun to bear fruit in the last few years. “Media have begun to talk and write much more about sex work. Much of this has been more positive to sex workers, …and both their tone and rhetoric have become more tolerant,” Marina Avramenko of the Russian Forum of Sex Workers, which offers legal consultancy and support to sex workers, told IPS. She added: “Sometimes media outlets conduct informal opinion polls about attitudes in society towards sex work and according to the results of these informal surveys, it is evident...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Crime & Justice Editors' Choice Europe Featured Gender Headlines Health Human Rights LGBTQ Regional Categories TerraViva United Nations Global Network of Sex Work Projects Russia Russian Forum of Sex Workers Sex Workers’ Righ Source Type: news