Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers Commends U.S. Assessment of Cambodian Trafficking Law

The 2009 Trafficking In Persons Report finds that a Cambodian anti-trafficking law is being used to arrest and detain sex workers rather than prosecute major traffickers.

Documenting Human Rights Abuses Against Sex Workers

In collaboration with OSI’s Law and Health Initiative, SHARP is supporting projects in East Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia to document human rights abuses against sex workers.

Sex Work and Trafficking: A Donor–Activist Dialogue on Rights and Funding

SHARP collaborated with the Network of Sex Work Projects and Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action to organize a Donor-Activist Dialogue on Sex Work and Trafficking, which brought together 35 donors, researchers, anti-trafficking activists, and sex worker rights activists from around the world to exchange views and generate ideas on supporting sex worker rights within anti-trafficking frameworks.

Legal Strategy Meeting on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Africa

SHARP, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Global Rights, InterRights, and the International Commission of Jurists-Kenya convened a four-day workshop with individuals and organizations from fifteen African countries to discuss legal strategies to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Africa.

Roundtable Discussions in Southern Africa: Rights Not Rescue

In April 2009, SHARP and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa hosted roundtable discussions with sex workers in Botswana and Namibia to discuss the findings and recommendations from the report Rights Not Rescue: A Report on Female, Trans, and Male Sex Workers’ Human Rights in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

SHARP Sponsors Panels at Symposium on Transgender Health

SHARP, in collaboration with OSI’s Law and Health Initiative, sponsored two panel sessions at the 21st Biennial Symposium of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) which took place in Oslo, Norway on June 17 - 20, 2009.

Joining Forces: A Skills Building Workshop in Collaborative Funding

As coordinator of the Sexual Health and Rights Working Group, SHARP organized a skills building workshop on collaborative funding models that took place at the International Human Rights Funders Group semi-annual conference, July 13-14 in New York City.

Rights Not Rescue: Female, Male, and Trans Sex Workers' Human Rights in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa

Published by the Open Society Institute, Rights Not Rescue highlights the widespread human rights abuses experienced by sex workers through a series of interviews and focus groups with sex workers and advocates throughout the three countries.

HIV Prevalence, Risks for HIV Infection, and Human Rights among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana

A research study funded by SHARP and OSISA on the risks for HIV infection among men who have sex with men has been published by PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed, online publication.

SHARP Publication Wins Award

Our Lives Matter: Sex Workers Unite for Health and Rights, a SHARP report highlighting the creative ways in which sex workers in eight countries have organized to defend their human rights and health, was awarded the Wilmer Shields Rich Excellence in Communications’ Silver Award for Public Information Campaigns.

SHARP Welcomes New Staff to Sister Foundations in Eastern and Southern Africa

SHARP is pleased to welcome the new Health and Rights Program Officer, Christine Munduru, at the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA). SHARP and OSIEA work closely together to advance a strategy of promoting the health and human rights of marginalized populations in Eastern Africa. Christine joins the OSIEA team from the African Medical and Research Foundation where she served as Project Officer of the HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Integrated Project. Christine has extensive experience in designing and implementing HIV/AIDS and health interventions, as well as in conducting social science research.

SHARP is also pleased to welcome Ian Swartz, the new Sexual Diversity Coordinator at the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). Ian came to OSISA from The Rainbow Project, a Namibian LGBT organization which he co-founded. He served the last five years as its director and an additional three years prior as a project coordinator for the organization, advocating for the advancement of LGBT rights in Namibia. Ian’s prior experience also included a position as a life skills counselor for the Ministry of Education and as a board member of numerous social justice and human rights organizations.

Gruber Women’s Rights Prize Awarded to SHARP Grantee

SHARP congratulates our grantee partner the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) of South Africa for receiving the 2009 Gruber Women’s Rights Prize. WLC was recognized for their work to successfully challenge the legal and cultural obstacles to women’s rights through the courts especially in the areas of inheritance and gender-based violence, and empower women with free legal advice on the impact of court judgments in their favor. The Women’s Rights Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation is presented to an individual or group that has made significant contributions, often at great personal or professional risk, to furthering the rights of women and girls in any area and to advancing public awareness of the need for gender equality to achieve a just world. The other 2009 recipient is Leymah Roberta Gbowee, Executive Director of Women in Peace and Security Network – Africa, a peacebuilding organization that acts to build relationships in West Africa to support women’s efforts to prevent, avert, and end conflicts.

The prize will be awarded in a ceremony this fall celebrating the achievements of the recipients, who will share the $500,000 prize.