Fifty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council
Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
AKAHATÁ Equipo de Trabajo en Sexualidad y Géneros Asociación Civil
Thank you, President,
My name is Trajche, and I represent the Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network, which has members in more than 20 countries across the CEECA region.
The title of the report itself is exclusionary: Sex-based violence does not reflect the diverse realities of those affected by violence. We are calling for inclusion instead of exclusion. The term that reflects the realities of all affected is gender-based violence!
By focusing on “protective” approaches rooted in moral frameworks, the report reinforces harmful narratives that view sex workers primarily as victims, or ignore the existence of sex work as work! The digital frontier is not new for sex workers; for years, we have faced cyber-bullying, online harassment, cyber monitoring, and platform discrimination. Punitive laws and anti-sex work policies continue to expose sex workers to violence, both online and offline, and restrict our access to digital tools that we utilize for our safety.
Without centring sex workers' rights and voices, we risk replicating old patterns of exclusion. We call for rights-based approaches, including decriminalization, digital empowerment, platform accountability, and tech-inclusive policy. We will not close the digital frontiers of violence by building walls, but by ensuring full inclusion, agency, and protection for all women and girls, including sex workers!