Support for Sex Workers’ Participation in Abstract Sessions at AIDS2008
Getting Involved and Getting Support
Possible topics
Appendices
APROASE Mexico and the Network of Sex Work Projects, with support from OSI, is encouraging and coordinating the participation of male, transgender and female sex workers, sex work projects, advocates and networks in the International AIDS Conference which will take place in Mexico City from 3-8 August 2008.
This is the 13th time that the NSWP and a local sex workers organization have worked together to ensure that sex workers’ voices are heard at the Conference and to advance our movement by getting to know each other and building alliances (see where and when). At past Conferences sex workers have presented strong cases for sex workers’ human rights, have protested abuses and unethical practices, and have forged many of the links and ideas that have led to effective, rights-based programmes. The Conference has been a key platform to influence the way governments, international agencies and societies respond to sex workers, both in terms of HIV and more broadly. For example, it was at these Conferences that the term “sex worker” was first accepted over “prostitute”.
By working together at the Conferences we have operated sex workers networking spaces and information booths; conducted sessions on sex work and human rights; presented on sex work issues at abstract, poster and invitation sessions, satellite and community meetings, book launches, awards ceremonies; protested and performed in the cultural programme and other events; and distributed the NSWP publication, Research for Sex Work.
Mexico City in 2008 is the most important Conference yet. As you know, a series of international initiatives have been implemented in the last few years that are specifically aimed at eroding the rights of sex workers: Pepfar; US and European anti-trafficking policy; the Global Fund; UNAIDS Three Pillars Guidance on Sex Work; 100% Condom Use Programmes; and re-criminalisation of prostitution. At the same time various technical issues in HIV have emerged as a threat to sex workers health and human rights: Provider initiated and coerced testing; criminalization of HIV transmission; new prevention technologies such as microbicides and oral Tenofovir; changes to health systems; and mainstreaming of HIV services.
Getting Involved and Getting Support
Interested parties will receive a letter from APROASE and others in the NSWP. This letter is to offer support for sex workers inputs into the formal programme of the Conference through abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations.
Abstracts
To make a presentation you must submit an abstract. When an abstract is accepted by the Conference the author will be invited to make a ten-minute presentation at an “abstract session” or to display their presentation as a poster. For an abstract to be to accepted it must:
- Be in English
- Be in one of two formats of 300 words or less
- Be submitted by the 19 February ( there is a later deadline too but this is not advised )
- Be submitted by an author who has obtained a Conference profile
- Be submitted to the appropriate session and track
The Conference is arranged around 5 tracks and 6 themes and all abstracts must fit within those. Further information about these themes and tracks is below in the Appendices.
We can provide assistance to people who work in sex work projects to submit an abstract. The assistance will vary depending on what is needed. It might include, for example:
- Discussing the abstract topic
- Translating small amounts of material such as abstract guidelines
- Providing information to guide abstract development and submission such as which track/session to submit to and how to make the topic fit with themes
- Editing abstracts and advising on language and presentation
- Completing the abstract submission forms including pre-registration
- Sharing information about what abstracts are being submitted to avoid duplication while maximizing everyone’s chance of success in abstract submission
Those authors whose abstracts are accepted will be offered further support before and during the Conference to ensure that their presentations are successful.
Scholarships
Anyone who is working in the field of HIV/AIDS can apply for financial support to attend the Conference. People who have an abstract accepted, are from a developing country and/or are living with HIV have the strongest chance of obtaining a scholarship. Those who have the support of the organization they work for and apply for partial, rather than full funding, also have a better chance, so try securing some financial contribution before you apply.
To apply for a scholarship applicants must submit:
- personal details
- work experience
- further details regarding the applicant’s organization, occupation or involvement in HIV/AIDS,
- motivation to attend the Conference
- information on how their organization or community would benefit from the scholarship.
We will provide assistance in completing and submitting the scholarship application forms of to people who work in sex work projects in a developing country, who submit an abstract on one of the priority areas.
Accessing Support
Support to develop abstracts will be provided until February 19 on request to any individual or organization that participates in regional and national networks and the NSWP through the NSWP listserve, the Global Working Group Sex Work Policy and others whose aims and messages are consistent with rights-based approaches to male, female and transgender sex workers. For those whose abstracts are accepted ongoing support to develop their presentations will be available from within the networks should it be needed.
To request this support you can write in English, Spanish, Thai, French, Russian or Portuguese to nswpmexico@gmail.com. Make sure you include:
- Your name, country, organization name, email address, phone number, and Skype address if you have one
- The language you speak and, if relevant, your strategy for presenting in English
- The topic your presentation will focus on
- Any draft or notes you have developed on the topic (but not data, tables, etc. at this stage)
- Which section of the Conference your presentation is appropriate for
- If you have attended or presented at an International Aids Conference before
Note: Please do not send information about the HIV or sex work status of potential presenters with the initial request.
Applicants who do not write in any of the languages listed above should ask an English speaker to write a note informing us that a person who does not speak these languages wishes to participate. These people will be followed up with on an individual basis and we have some translation support from volunteers within the networks. It is worth noting that although there is some translation to Spanish at the Conference the official language is English.
Possible topics
This is a list of some of the topics that sex work projects and sex workers rights advocates have identified to be addressed, including in abstract sessions. When we know which topics are being addressed by abstracts from sex work projects, this list can be used as a checklist to help identify gaps. Please let us know if you can see any topics that are missing or require more explanation.
Policy
- UNAIDS Guidance on Sex Work aka “The Three Pillars”
- The impact on HIV programming and policy of anti-trafficking programmes including demand reduction, criminalization of clients, and sex worker “rescues”
- 100% Condom Use programmes and other coercive programming including criminalization of HIV transmission
- Mandatory, coerced and provider-initiated HIV testing
- Funding issues including Global Fund
- Pepfar and US policy
- The impact of ideology, religion and culture on sex work policy
Epidemiology and research
- Ethical, participatory models of social, behavioural and epi research
- Examples of ways to link research data to effective policy and interventions
- HIV prevention and treatment clinical trial ethics in respect of female sex workers
- The macro-economics of sex work and implications for development and poverty alleviation as responses to HIV and sex work
- Changing and emerging patterns in the global sex trade (e.g geo-political, environmental, patterns of mobility routes, informal sex trade sector)
- Overview of economic empowerment programmes such as self/externally organized micro-enterprise and income generation projects. What are their aims, what role can/do they play in HIV prevention and care. Data?
Programming for prevention and care
- Examples of, and evidence base for, comprehensive rights-based HIV and SRH programmes in developing countries and constrained settings
- Analysis of effective funding models and mechanisms to promote rights-based HIV care and prevention programming for male, female and transgender sex workers in developing countries and constrained settings
- Programming for men who buy sex from male, female or transgender sex workers
- Utilizing media, technology and cultural approaches in sex worker self-organizing and empowerment for HIV prevention and care
- Innovative/community based models of providing support, treatment and care for HIV positive male, female and transgender sex workers
- Examples of ethical scale-up of programming including access to VCT/STI/SRH and another health system issues
- Integrating responses to social and economic determinants of vulnerability into rights based HIV prevention and care interventions
- Capacity building for sex worker clinical trial participants and communities
- The potential impact of new prevention technologies (such as microbicides and pre-exposure prophylaxis) on female, male and transgender sex workers
- Cultural approaches
- Sex workers access to HIV treatment and care
- Issues in counselling
- Addressing violence
- Integration of sex work/HIV programming with sexual and reproductive health services
- Integration of sex work programming with MSM services
- Programming for small communities
- Programming in constrained settings eg. Conflict/post conflict, disaster, military regimes, Sharia law
Examples of good practice of sex worker participation, community empowerment and rights based approaches to public health, preferably supported by data.
- HIV positive sex workers.
- Male sex workers
- Transgender sex workers
- Sex workers’ children
- Mobile sex workers
- Harm reduction initiatives in the context of drug use and sex work
- Initiatives that promote human rights/reduce violence, stigma and discrimination.
- Humanitarian and emergency aid
Appendices
Themes
- Globalization & HIV/AIDS: how, in a world with borders, globalization and global inequalities affect the response to the epidemic, and how this response can best contribute to increasing the benefits and reducing the drawbacks of globalization.
- Science & Technology: how to transfer to the field and increase worldwide access to recent biomedical advances, technological innovations and improvements in public health policies in HIV prevention, treatment and support.
- Health Systems Strengthening & Integration: how to strengthen broad-based health systems and integrate HIV interventions to deliver the necessary services to those in greatest need; and how HIV-targeted programs can reciprocally contribute to health systems strengthening and global health?
- Stigma, Discrimination & Social Justice: how to combat stigma and discrimination against PLWHAS and groups more exposed to the risks of HIV infection, and to overcome existing barriers in access to HIV care and prevention, with a special interest in approaches that incorporate these goals within a social justice framework.
- "Do the Right Thing" and Evidence-informed policies & Programmes: how to guarantee that public policies and interventions by all concerned partners are based on the best available evidence and on established good practices at the global, national and local levels.
- Tracking Progress & Accountability: how to track the progress that has been made in the response, as well as the remaining gaps and limitations, in order to increase accountability of all partners towards the communities most affected by the epidemic.