For the sixth time, proud of the accomplishments of the past year of 2023, we join the initiative to mark the September 14th, the International Sex Worker Pride Day. As the first and only collective of sex workers in the country and in the Balkans, we share our most significant achievements and successes in our mission to advocate for and promote the rights of sex workers.
In order to respond to the sex workers’ needs, while contributing together to the exercise of the rights and freedoms of our community, we have begun a process of documenting cases of discrimination among sex workers as a community intervention that contributed to strengthening our collective power and encouragement and motivation to initiate legal processes that will bring changes in the future.
Our campaigns and public appearances in 2023 were in actual fact powerful voices of justice and solidarity. Our aim with these events was to raise awareness and knowledge among the broader population in relation to the needs and problems faced by sex workers and to increase the visibility of the community in the public. On March 3rd, with a short video focused on the problems faced by sex workers as one of the most socially marginalized communities in the Republic of North Macedonia, especially when it comes to their access to justice, we marked the International Sex Worker Rights Day.
In honor of June 2nd, the International Sex Worker Day, we implemented the “Sex Worker Month” public campaign. As part of this campaign, we organized three public events titled “Living Sex Worker Library”, which took place in three different regions of the country. The events were attended by about 40 people from the general population, who had the opportunity to hear sex workers’ stories and experiences first-hand.
On December 17th, alongside with our partners HOPS – Healthy Options Project Skopje, we held the 16th Red Umbrella March, bringing our message of visibility and equality throughout the streets of Skopje. This campaign, titled 5353 Days to Justice was dedicated to the victory and the final justice for sex workers upon the ruling of the European Court for Human Rights in the case D.H. and others vs. North Macedonia, a 2008 case of police violence and invasion of privacy.
In 2023, we managed to provide financial support with the aim of advancing digital rights and community safety, and we are especially proud that we managed to open new opportunities for women at social risk. This is a step forward that will help them achieve their career goals and dreams, creating a better future for themselves and their families. By creating conditions and opportunities for education in order to integrate marginalized women in the labor market, we continue to realize our vision for action in 2024.
The initiative to mark the the International Sex Worker Pride Day, marked for the first time in 2019, was initiated by NSWP (The Global Network of Sex Work Projects). This momentous day aims to celebrate the self-determination and increased visibility of the sex worker community and showcase all the achievements of international sex worker-led organizations over the past year.