Fearing the consequences they wouldn’t come out as sex workers, so they marched covering their faces with red umbrellas on the 15th anniversary demonstration of Association of Hungarian Sex Workers. Ágnes Földi, chairwoman of SZEXE sayes they sense no progress made in 15 years. Boglárka Fedorkó, Communications Officer of SZEXE talked about the personal tragedies they have witnessed, and asked local advocates and feminists to avoid confronting the sex workers’ advocates, rahter establish exit programs instead for those sex workers who may wish to quit the scene.
Maria Morozova, Communications Officer of Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network SWAN, an Eastern Europe and Middle Asia focused umbrella organisation. Morozova sayed they know of cases when sex workers were robbed or raped, turned to the authorities and were denied help, because the police blamed them for having chosen this occupation. Staca Plecas, executive director of SWAN states this is not local, but a regional, or even a global problem, that sex workers are being excluded, their activity is not acknowledged as work and are facing a lot of violence and legal offences.
Dr. Klaudia Makó, SZEXE’s lawyer sayes they know of many cases in which sex workers spend years on prison for legal offences that are caused entirely by the inappropriate legal framework.
This short film was produced by Green Spider Media Lab.