Group Unites Latin American Sex Workers to Ward Off Violence, Gain Human Rights Dina Gonzalez - Global Press Journal
go to original September 22, 2016

"Karla" was murdered on May 6. She was a sex worker, but she was also an activist. That's why she was killed, her friends say.

Karla's real name was Angelica Quintanilla. She was waiting to take the bus when a car drove past and shot her nine times.

She died in El Salvador that night, where she lived and worked. An international consortium of sex workers known as RedTraSex, of which she was a member, discussed her story when they gathered in Argentina's capital city in June. It was an example, they said, of why sex workers need to strengthen their security measures and build alliances with global agencies so they can evacuate threatened activist sex workers when needed.

Gatherings of Red de Mujeres Trabajadoras Sexuales de Latinoamerica y el Caribe (RedTraSex) awaken members' passion to end abuse and murder of sex workers, says Elena Reynaga, the network's executive secretary.

Sex workers and activists are resigned to a life of danger, because they are the public voice of opposition to that violence, RedTraSex members say.

"It hurts me a lot that indifference exists, because people don't know what the girls live like in these countries," Reynaga says. "They just can't continue killing and murdering women."

Alliances with global agencies are in the works, Reynaga says, but details, including which agencies, aren't being made public until those agreements are formal.

RedTraSex also decided in June to create a phone monitoring system among the network's members. Local point people now have members' phone numbers and check in periodically.

Still, Reynaga says, the only lasting way to prevent violence against sex workers is to gain legal recognition. RedTraSex in June asked the Organization of American States to recognize sex work in Latin America as a profession, to recognize the violence, stigma and discrimination workers face, and to take an active role in developing legal frameworks that protect and guarantee certain rights, among others.

Sex work is assumed in that region to be something a woman is forced into, but that's not always the case, says Carolina Justo Von Lurzer, a researcher at Argentina's National Scientific and Technical Research Council.

Many women, including members of RedTraSex, choose sex worker as a profession, but they don't enjoy the rights that people in other careers have, Justo Von Lurzer says. If this work were regulated and recognized, it could save the lives of many.

Read the rest at Mexico Star

Photo: RedTraSex

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