On November 22nd, 2024, at the Skopje Marriott Hotel, STAR-STAR Skopje held a public event in order to present the report “Sex Workers’ Experiences, Knowledge and Needs with Regard to Exercising Human Social and Healthcare Rights in the RNM“. We organized the event within the frames of the project “National Implementation of the Global Framework for Social Protection and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for 2024,” supported by the regional network SWAN – Sex Workers Rights Advocacy Network.
The event opened with a welcoming speech by Lila Milikj, the President of STAR-STAR Skopje, who outlined the mission and vision of the organization. The attendees were informed about the activities and achievements of STAR-STAR Skopje, as well as the purpose of the research that documents the situation pertaining to the rights of sex workers to social and healthcare protection in the RSM.
The report’s author, Iva Mihajlovska, presented key findings and recommendations from the research, which surveyed 50 sex workers by means of a questionnaire on access to social protection and healthcare. The findings showed that sex workers face significant barriers to accessing services due to stigma, discrimination and insufficient institutional support.
Dragana Drndarevska, member of the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination, discussed the importance of inter-institutional cooperation for the provision of services without discrimination.
The participants actively discussed how access to health and social services can be improved by improving institutional policies and practices.
With this event, we confirmed that addressing the problems and challenges faced by sex workers requires an integrated approach, involving institutions, civil society organizations, and the sex worker community itself. The report and its recommendations represent an important foundation for developing inclusive policies and services that address the needs of this marginalized group.
For more details, see the full report: link to the report.
Photo credit: Vancho Dzambaski https://www.flickr.com/photos/fosim/albums/72177720322104831/