Empowerment, combatting exclusion, and ‘nothing about us without us’ – these principles are at the core of our new policy.

Entitled ‘Empowering LGBTI sex workers towards the full respect of their human rights’, it outlines three key steps that we all collectively must take to ensure the rights of sex workers are protected:

• Combatting structural discrimination and social exclusion of LGBTI people
• Calling for decriminalisation as a cornerstone for protecting the human rights of sex workers
• Working towards the full inclusion of the voices of sex workers in the LGBTI community

LGBTI sex workers have always been part of the LGBTI movement; the names of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Riveria are not just historical references, their experiences at Stonewall shaped Pride events and the global LGBTI movement as we know it today. And yet, many sex workers are excluded from modern-day LGBTI activism.

In ILGA-Europe’s view, LGBTI organisations have a key role to play in fighting against stigma affecting LGBTI sex workers, both within and outside the LGBTI community.

This is why ILGA-Europe commit to raising awareness within the LGBTI community on the human rights violations which LGBTI sex workers are facing, and to addressing stigma against sex workers and supporting them to be more visible within the LGBTI community.

• Read the ILGA-Europe policy on respecting the rights of LGBTI sex workers in full here. [5]

• On the ILGA-Europe blog, our executive director Evelyne Paradis talks about our new position paper. Read her blog post here. [6]

• For more information, contact ILGA-Europe Advocacy Director Katrin Hugendubel [7].

Over the next few days, we will be hearing from sex workers’ networks, LGBTI groups developing their own relationships with the sex worker movement, as well as sharing our own perspective on
how this policy was developed. #LGBTISexWorkers [8]https://t.co/9Jrhy1OZzi [9] pic.twitter.com/qI40pgGJt1 [10]

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) 18 Haziran 2018 [11]

In order to empower #LGBTISexWorkers [8] and fully respect their fundamental rights, we all (the #LGBTI [12] community, civil society organisations, policymakers and other stakeholders) need to take action! Read more in our position paper: https://t.co/08mjQ0Ikb7 [13] pic.twitter.com/XaX2S2vOcY [14]

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) 19 Haziran 2018 [15]

Our #DestinationEquality [16] magazine is out now - the latest issue looks at #community [17] #organising [18]! Read Luca Stevenson @sexworkeurope [19] and Boglarka Fedorko @TGEUorg [20] on #LGBTISexWorkers [8] community organising challenges: https://t.co/07PfTYYhJC [21] pic.twitter.com/9LJaoGyCuW [22]

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) 20 Haziran 2018 [23]

.@sexworkeurope [19] are one of international organisations that work for sex workers’ rights. They are today’s guest bloggers, with a post reflecting the fact that it’s “time for the LGBTI movement to embrace #LGBTISexWorkers [8] rights!” https://t.co/oiYvgYeWtQ [24] pic.twitter.com/IfnIMKaueL [25]

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) 21 Haziran 2018 [26]

ILGA-Europe supports sex workers’ demand to decriminalise sex work and believes that decriminalisation removes significant barriers to the effective enjoyment of human rights for #LGBTISexWorkers [8]. Read more about ILGA-Europe’s position on sex work. https://t.co/08mjQ0Ikb7 [13]

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) June 22, 2018 [27]

The ‘Swedish model’ that criminalises sex work has always been criticized by sex workers’ movement. Read today how RFSL – the national LGBTI organisation in Sweden – view the ‘Swedish model’ and how they support #LGBTISexWorkers [8] in their post on our #Blog [28]. https://t.co/gBq4ga4ewH [29] pic.twitter.com/6cQetEKlYW [30]

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) June 22, 2018 [31]

Today’s guest on our blog #LGBTISexWorkers [8] is Tina Kolos Orban, Vice president of @Transvanilla [32], a Hungarian org for trans, gender nonconforming and intersex people. Read their blog post “Invisibility, exclusion and stigma: LGBTQI sex workers” here: https://t.co/cKmRVZRWE2 [33] pic.twitter.com/p8PFbBsO3b [34]

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) June 23, 2018 [35]