[COMMENTARY] Police Crackdowns in China: The Health and Human Rights of Sex Workers

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The following is a cross post from the Health and Human Rights Journal. The journal and blog provide a forum for action-oriented dialogue among human rights practitioners.

By Meg Davis

Chinese authorities hold periodic sweeps to detain sex workers, drug users, and other ‘social undesirables’ en masse in advance of national holidays and major government conferences. Sex workers, including feminist activist Ye Haiyan (also known as Hooligan Sparrow) are increasingly vocal in raising concerns about the effects of these raids, highlighting the hardships faced by the lowest-paid sex workers.

In the often-heated international debate about criminal penalties on sex work, we rarely hear the voices of sex workers themselves.  But in China, a new network representing Chinese sex workers says that police crackdowns don’t stop sex work – they only drive sex workers further underground, putting them at higher risk of violence and HIV/AIDS.

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[COMMENTARY] World Bank Report On Fiscal Constraints – A Return To The 90s

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By Brook Baker

The World Bank has just recently issued a “new” report: The fiscal dimension of HIV/AIDS in Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, and Uganda. The Report doesn’t really feel “new” because it represents a recurrent theme in the World Bank approach from the earliest days of the global AIDS pandemic – it’s not fiscally sustainable to treat people living with HIV in high impact, low-resource countries – instead the world must focus on “prevention.”  The World Bank is seriously out-of-date, or conversely, perversely pig-headed, for four main reasons:

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[UPDATE] Board Announces $8,000 Match

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On March 21, we announced that Asia Catalyst’s board of directors has generously agreed to match all donations for our
“New Generation of Leaders” campaign in 2012 up to a total of $8,000 dollars. This means that donations of $100 are worth $200, and a $500 gift is worth $1,000. Anyone who makes donations of $100 or more receives a gift book featuring photos and narratives about our Chinese partner organizations, as well as a foreword by civil society expert Shawn Shieh (China Development Brief). Funds raised go to our campaign to bring Chinese activists to the International AIDS Conference in Washington D.C. and to make our work more sustainable. To give, please go here.

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[EVENT] Launching Our “New Generation of Leaders” 5th Anniversary Campaign

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On the evening of March 21, Asia Catalyst celebrated the official launch of its 5th Anniversary “New Generation of Leaders” Campaign with a cocktail and dim sum reception, hosted by board member Minky Worden. Asia Catalyst honored the immense contributions of Professor Jerome Cohen, board member emeritus and a leading scholar on Chinese law. His former students and colleagues contributed to a photo book, which Margaret Lewis, a former student and current associate professor of law at Seton Hall University, presented to him at the event. The evening also featured a discussion between Mike Frick, China program officer, and Shen Tingting, deputy director of Dongjen Human Rights Education and Action Center. Tingting shared her experiences in HIV/AIDS activism–both the numerous accomplishments as well as the challenges her organization faced since it was founded in 2003. Board members Yvonne Chan and Christina Lem, as well as Meg Davis, Asia Catalyst’s founder and executive director, spoke about how far the organization has come in the last five years. Thanks to everyone for coming out!

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[NEWS] Activists Arrested Protesting Ban on U.S. Funding Syringe Exchange Programs

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By Brian Bonci

Yesterday marked the National Day of Action on Syringe Exchange in the United States.  Activists from around the country have mobilized to protest a recent reinstatement of the ban on federal funding for clean needle programs.  Several harm reduction advocates were arrested, including Charles King, CEO of Housing Works. Current estimates are that 32 were arrested in Washington, DC alone.  The Actions were organized by the We Can End AIDS Coalition, which is coordinating a mobilization around the International AIDS Conference on July 24th.

 

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