International Sex Workers’ Day is celebrated every year on 2nd of June in Europe and around the world. This day is considered a symbolic birth of the activist movement of sex workers in the fight for respect for their rights.
The occasion for marking this day is the action in 1975, when on June 2, about 100 sex workers gathered and occupied the church of St. Nizier in Lyon, France, in order to express their anger at their discriminated and exploited living and working conditions. On June 10, at 5 a.m., the church was brutally attacked by police. This protest is the beginning of an international movement of sex workers who stand up for their rights.
Star – The first sex workers collective in the Balkans, as every year, joins the celebration of this important international day for sex workers. This year together with the Association HOPS-Options for Healthy Life Skopje, Star – The first sex workers collective in the Balkans and Coalition Margini.
The event “The Red Dress Fits Me Very Well” aims to send strong messages from sex workers to the public, through the red colour which is a symbol of passion and love and therefore her face is transformed into self-confidence and struggle for a better tomorrow. The event will feature red dresses worn by sex workers with pride and dignity, showing that choosing their job is a personal decision.
Everyone present at the event, sex workers, activists, close families of sex workers, friends, partners, will have the opportunity to give strong support for the realisation of their labour, health and social rights.
The event is held in the city park in Skopje, opposite the discos and the dog park, from 10 am to 6 pm.
Furthermore, Star joined the “Europe has forgotten the Human Rights of Migrant Sex Workers” campaign launched by the International network for the promotion of the rights of migrant sex workers TAMPEP by signing their first declaration and signing a petition as the first phase of change.