HCLU emphasizes again the importance of prevention generally and also of informing marginalized groups as sex workers. To reach marginalized groups institutions and policy makers must respect their human rights.
HCLU beleives that an effective policy can only be carried out with the involvment of them. Petersburg and Siberia , Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. On this day, we, representatives of 16 NGOs from 15 countries, would like to warn the governments in our region that the world is facing an unprecedented human catastrophe. Among them are sex workers. In many countries in our region prostitution is illegal.
Sex workers have no access to education about HIV infection and effective prevention. They have no access to HIV testing, free condoms, medical treatment or psychological counseling. Their human rights are routinely violated. They are beaten, raped, blackmailed, kidnapped, sold and bought by human traffickers.
They are often beaten and raped by the police. Condoms found on them are used as evidence against them. That violates basic human rights of sex workers and makes them more likely to get infected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. There is no solution to the HIV pandemic without their involvement. Access to education on sexually transmitted infections and on prevention against them is a human right of young people As a network of 16 service-providing civil society organizations from 15 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, we have experience in developing policies and providing services for sex workers and HIV infected persons.
We can provide the necessary assistance to the governments in development of comprehensive programs to fulfill the above recommendations. Tada, Poland, www. Serbia, www.
