Karnataka Sex Workers Union is a trade union of sex workers
(incl. women, men & transgender people) in Karnataka
Karnataka Sex Workers Union, Uttara Karnataka
Mahila Okkoota, National Network of Sex Workers (NNSW) strongly condemn the statement of the Women and Child
Development Minister of Karnataka, Ms. Jayamala where she is reported to have instructed the Women and Child
Development department officials to call sex workers “Oppressed Women”. We are sex workers, do not rob us of our
identity! We demand that she withdraw her statement and decriminalise sex work!
Press release with list of endorsements [Kannada] [English]
News & Updates
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Poetry Workshop
Posted 30 Jul 2017A day-long poetry workshop was organised by Sangama and KSWU. Read more
Issues
Access to Healthcare
Access to quality healthcare is vital because our exposure to STD, HIV/AIDS through sexwork is a daily worry for us.
Read moreChildren of Sex Workers
We want our children to be educated, employed and lead lives that are free from the exploitation, stigma and abuse that mark our lives.
Read moreCriminalisation
For many of us, sex work is a means of livelihood and offers a better deal compared with being unskilled labourers in another exploitative industry. Why criminalise it?
Read moreLegal Issues
In India, exchanging sex for money is legal as long as it is done privately and voluntarily. But sex workers are not protected under labour laws.
Read moreHuman Rights
We demand a right to work safely. We demand a right to earn an income in a profession of our choice. Do not raid us. Do not rescue us. Leave us alone, to work, earn our livelihoods and live with dignity.
Read moreTrafficking
This is a huge occupational hazard for us and also for vulnerable children from disaster hit areas or from poor families who are believe they are sending their children to a better future.
Read morePublications
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Critique of the Study Undertaken by the Government-Appointed Committee on the Issue of Sex Workers
As Human Beings and as Workers: Sex Worker Unionization in KA, India
Global Labour Journal, 2015Our Stories
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Geeta, from Karnataka Sex Workers' Union in Bangalore died in 2012. She died because of substandard care for
people with HIV. Geeta was the first and most outspoken HIV+ sex worker in India. It was she who gave a face to
HIV+ sex workers, there issues and their struggles.
In this interview filmed in Bangkok in 2009 Geeta discusses discrimination, labour rights and donors obsession
in meeting prevention targets while ignoring the needs of sex workers with HIV.
