We’re hiring: Development and Communication Intern

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Part time:      16-20 hours/week

Reports to:    Development and Communications Coordinator

Start date:     March 2015

Application Deadline: March 9, 2015

Apply to: info@asiacatalyst.org

Asia Catalyst seeks a part time, unpaid intern for an 8-week placement, starting in March 2015 to work in our midtown-Manhattan office. We seek self-starters with a passion for social justice and rule of law who will be an active part of the organization. Candidates with an interest or background in Asia and human rights, particularly the right to health, are encouraged to apply. (more…)

Their Today is Our Tomorrow: Reflections from the China Red Ribbon Forum Conference on Women and HIV

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In November, my colleagues from the Jiaozhou Health and Counseling Center and I were invited to attend a conference titled “Women and HIV in the Context of Commercial Sex.” The China Red Ribbon Forum–a platform for government and civil society organizations to discuss HIV and rights issues–and several UN agencies hosted the conference. There, we met officers from UNAIDS, the United Nations Population Fund, the China AIDS Association, sex worker delegations from New Zealand and Vietnam, and staff from domestic organizations that focus on preventing HIV/AIDS for sex workers.

The first thing I learned from this seminar was the “Chatham House Principle ” which ensures that participants of the seminar were able to speak freely under guaranteed confidentiality. Under this relaxed and harmonious atmosphere, all participants, including us sex workers, could fully express themselves.

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New Report: Survey of Chinese Transgender Female Sex Workers

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(Friday January 16, Beijing) Transgender female sex workers are amongst the most marginalized and discriminated populations in China, Asia Catalyst said in a new report published today. The Chinese government should decriminalize sex work and enact anti-discrimination legislation including gender identity and sexual orientation as protected categories.

The 72 page report, “My life is too dark to see the light– A Survey of the Living Conditions of Transgender Female Sex Workers in Beijing and Shanghai” documents the daily reality for transgender female sex workers in Beijing and Shanghai. Based on 10 months’ research by Asia Catalyst and two Chinese community based organizations, Beijing Zuoyou Center and Shanghai CSW (commercial sex worker)&MSM (men who have sex with men) Center, the report documents discrimination, police violence, legal restrictions and a policy environment preventing this highly marginalized group’s access to public services, legal identity and appropriate health care. They experience amplified stigma due to both their gender identity and their profession. (more…)

The First Ever Conference on Sex Work and Law Enforcement in China

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My name is Liu Min.* I am 48, I live in Shanghai, and I have been a sex worker for the past 15 years. I am a person with a disability, and I only have one arm. Coming from a rural area in China, I don’t have other means with which to make a living. I go to the park everyday to find clients, my sex work helps me to support myself. (more…)

AIDS 2014: Transgender Sex Worker Research

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This week at the International Aids Conference (IAC), Asia Catalyst presents preliminary findings from a joint research project on transgender sex workers conducted with two Chinese organizations, Beijing Zuoyou Information Center and Shanghai CSW & MSM Center.

Shanghai CSW (commercial sex worker) & MSM (men who have sex with men) Center (SCMC) was established in 2004 to focus on the rights and wellbeing of vulnerable sexual minorities in China. SCMC works to improve sexual minorities’ access to medical and legal services, and to improve the environment surrounding these vulnerable groups. As the secretariat of a sex workers network platform, SCMC also works in coalition with academic institutions, mass media, and other groups to improve public understanding of the discrimination faced by sex workers.

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