For the fourth time, sex workers in our country join the NSWP’s initiative to mark September 14, the International Sex Worker Pride Day. On that occasion, as a self-organized sex workers’ community in the Balkans and is one of a kind in the Republic of North Macedonia, we share our achievements and efforts that made us particularly proud last year.
Despite the great challenges we faced in 2021, which was undoubtedly marked by the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, we managed to stay consistent of what we do, to advocate for sex workers’ rights within the healthcare, social welfare and legal system in the country, and to lobby for an appropriate model for regulation of sex work in the Republic of North Macedonia. The decriminalization of sex work as the best legal solution to regulate sex work and protect sex workers’ human rights has been our primary focus of work – a process we continue to work on in 2022.
In order to improve the legal framework and create better living and working conditions for sex workers in the country, we have remained focused on good cooperation with national governmental and international institutions, coalitions and associations. In May 2021 we organized “POP-UP DINNER” where for the first time in history of our country, on the same dinner table institutional representatives (Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Ministry of Justice and Ombudsman) were seated together with sex workers and activists to discuss active and meaningful inclusion and involvement of all stake holders in the process of amending laws to decriminalize sex work in North Macedonia.
In 2021, following the proposal of the President of the HIV Commission, and the decision of the Minister of Health of the Republic of North Macedonia, STAR-STAR became a member of the same commission. The HIV Commission aims to work on the creation and promotion of policies for the sustainability of the continuum of HIV prevention among the key populations, within the framework of the HIV Prevention Program under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health. We value the recognition of STAR-STAR by the expert members of the Commission as an act of high ethics for the involvement of those most affected in the National response to HIV.
In 2021, we organized the 14th Red Umbrella March to mark 17th December – The International Day to Stop Violence against Sex Workers. Around 100 participants, sex workers, activists and our supporters marched the high streets in Skopje, joining the global campaign for solidarity with sex workers. Once again we send the message “Just When Decriminalization?” pointing out the need for for urgent adoption of a new legal framework to regulate sex work in the Republic of North Macedonia and amending laws that threaten sex workers. The Red Umbrella March were entirely covered by the media, 56 national websites, portals, radios and televisions reported on the event.
Furthermore in 2021, we published our program and financial report for our work in the last decade titled “A Ten-Year Report on the Programs, Activities and Finances of the Association for Support of Marginalized Workers STAR-STAR Skopje for the Period Between 2010 and 2020”, which includes the key achievements of our organization. The report was promoted among our community, partners and supporter during the jubilee event “A Decade of Sex Workers’ Raised Voices, Transparency and Accountability” held at the end of May 2021.
We have successfully completed the previous year by becoming an equal member of ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey. STAR-STAR will continue to network with other national and international networks and organizations in order to provide the support of sex workers and increase the visibility of the community.
We will continue the fight for recognition of our rights and build success that will continue to make us proud as a collective of sex workers.
The initiative to celebrate the International Sex Worker Pride Day was launched by NSWP – The Global Network of Sex Work Projects, and it was first celebrated in 2019. Sex Worker Pride is a fourth international sex worker rights day, created to celebrate sex workers’ self-determination and show the achievements of sex worker-led organisations.