Dog Days Turn Deadly in America’s Prisons

By James Ridgeway | Tue September 1, 2009 4:27 AM PST
The summer of 2009 hadn’t even begun when Marcia Powell, a 48-year old inmate at Arizona’s Perryville Prison, was baked to death. Powell, whom court records show had a history of schizophrenia, substance abuse, and mild mental retardation, was serving a 27-month sentence for prostitution. [...]

Ignored by society, Afghan dancing boys suffer centuries-old tradition

By Atia Abawi, CNN
October 27, 2009 — Updated 1721 GMT (0121 HKT)
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — A young boy dressed in women’s clothing, his face caked in make-up, dances the night away for a crowd of men.
The bells on his feet chime away, mimicking the entertainment and sexual appeal of female dancers. But there is no [...]

Prostitution debate rages worldwide

Natalie Alcoba, National Post
Friday, Oct. 16, 2009
A prostitute in Amsterdam’s red light district. The debate around legalizing the sex trade rages in many countries around the world, including Canada. – Anoek de Groot/AFP/Getty Images
One of the latest battlegrounds for the highly charged issue of prostitution – is it violence, is it a job? – is [...]

Older Stories: Beyond Immigrant Brothels

by Juhu Thukral on October 2, 2006
At the age of 17, Cathy* came to the United States from Thailand, expecting to work off a debt. As soon as she arrived, though, her traffickers demanded the money. If they weren’t paid, they said, she would have to go into prostitution.
Cathy was able to escape on her [...]

Lessons from a Mexican Brothel

by Patty Kelly on June 16, 2009
On a chilly March morning, my friend Abraham and I head out by car from Washington, D.C. to rural Virginia to do some exploring. Visiting from Mexico City, Abraham has been to New York City many times. But large cities can give a visitor the wrong idea about a [...]

The Crusade Against Sex Trafficking

By Noy Thrupkaew
This article appeared in the October 5, 2009 edition of The Nation.
September 16, 2009
This article is the first part of a two-part series. The next installment will explore alternative approaches to addressing the problem of trafficking for the purposes of forced prostitution.
–The Editors
Gary Haugen is cradling the padlocks in his thick hands. A [...]

IL: Elk Grove gay bar Hunters Nightclub imposes new rule on cross dressers

Patrons are now required to supply ID that matches their ‘gender presentation’
Brian Cox and Lisa Black
September 21, 2009
An Elk Grove Village gay bar popular with cross-dressers now requires them to show a valid photo ID that matches their “gender presentation.” Put another way, they now need a photo ID that shows them in drag.
Hunters Nightclub [...]

Africa: Rights Not Rescue

Female, Male, and Trans Sex Workers’ Human Rights in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa
Date:June 2009
Source:OSI
Author:Jayne Arnott and Anna-Louise Crago
Sex workers are subjected to widespread human rights abuses, including police violence and unequal access to health care, in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Despite enormous challenges, sex workers are organizing to protect their rights and demand [...]

Child labor in Lebanon: A breakdown

Posted July 6th, 2009
Lebanon has the highest proportion of working kids aged 10 to 17 in the world, with over 100,000 children in the country who are victims of child labor and illicit trafficking. Rights groups say better coverage of the often misreported story could help inform people about the realities of child [...]

Sex Workers and Junkies Networking in Porto

Blog post
By inpud
Mat Southwell gives us his impressions of CLAT 5, the Latin European Harm Reduction Conference. Here he talks to the sex workers and finds some fascinating views and more common ground.
Only Rights will Right the Wrongs -Sex Workers & Junkies Network in Porto
When Erin and I were at the UNAIDS PCB we [...]