In light of September 14th – International Sex Workers Pride Day, STAR – The First Sex Workers Collective in the Balkans from North Macedonia sums up and highlights our efforts and achievements throughout 2021 that make us proud.
In these extremely difficult times affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, our community and collective has faced many challenges. Because of the strict measures and movement restrictions during the pandemic, sex workers faced loss of work and clients, and with it they lost valuable existential income on which depend entire families. We, as a sex workers collective which stands for and protects the community, stood in solidarity and helped the members of our community and their families.
With the fundraising action “DONATE, DO NOT DISCRIMINATE” and humanitarian auction “ACTION FOR REACTION” with the support of the general and socially responsible writers, fashion designers, artists and designers, in 2020 we raised funds for tackling the negative effects of the pandemic and we provided continuous support in 2020 and 2021 to members of the community in need from Skopje, Gostivar and Strumica. The raised funds were used to procure packages with food and hygiene products, as well as value vouchers for essential needs, which were handed out in several aid actions.
Additionally, in 2021 our regional paralegal service continued to support community members from Skopje, Gostivar and Strumica in human rights violation cases and provided access and referrals to other social and healthcare services.
One of the biggest achievements, despite the extraordinary pandemic conditions, was organizing the first pop-up event as a creative advocacy tool to turn the political attention towards the sex work decriminalization process. 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 Affairs, Ministry of Labor 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.
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 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.
Another recognition of our work has been the decision by the independent production Aral Sea Productions, after interviewing many sex work collectives and organisations, to come to North Macedonia and work with us on filming the documentary “Beyond the Red Light”. The shooting of the global story about decriminalization and destigmatizing of sex work began in Skopje, Strumica and Gostivar in May 2021 and will continue in December 2021 during the annual Red Umbrella March on 17 December.
As a collective, we are very proud to have been able to stand for and with our community in these difficult and challenging times and continue together towards better days and bigger achievements. We are proud that the pandemic did not stop us to show solidarity and humanity and our commitment to the rights of the sex workers.