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In a traditional ger tent in Khövsgöl, the northernmost province of Mongolia, a dozen women talk while lying on couches and beds. They share chocolate and warm cups of salty milk tea, a Mongolian specialty. The air is cold outside, and they have a warm fire to gather around as they pass the day.
Their cosy surrounds cushion the complex issues to be tackled today, with the help of a translator. These women are sex workers and they are meeting with the Scarlet Alliance, an Australian-based sex worker organisation, to discuss issues around the rights of sex workers, their health and HIV.
They explain to Elena Jeffreys, the president of Scarlet Alliance, that they face ongoing harassment and medical discrimination.
Sex workers' rights are not enshrined in legislation in Mongolia. The Mongolian government's 100 per cent condom-use policy, implemented to reduce HIV incidence, according to Elena, 'involves intense surveillance and monitoring of the sex workers' locations and activities'. |
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A traditional ger tent in Mongolia. Photo: AAP |
Sex workers have the option of registering for mandatory testing, which entitles them to free testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, they are then subject to scrutiny, and can lose both privacy and autonomy in their affairs.
Elena is familiar with the discrimination faced by sex workers. In Australia, it is the peak representative body for sex workers, and plays an important role in advocating for sex workers' rights and policy development.
'Everywhere is different, although sex workers face discrimination and stigma all over the world,' says Elena.
Mongolian sex workers are a focus of the HIV policy and policing responses in that country, and they are being invited to develop their own HIV prevention programs with Mongolian Red Cross.
At their first meeting in Khövsgöl the women discuss what they want from the program being developed with the support of Mongolian Red Cross and Scarlet Alliance, through funding from Australian Red Cross. Then they take Elena to where they work and ask questions about life for workers in other countries.
'One of the aims of the program is to bring sex workers together to begin to form their own network, and determine their own
responses to issues they face such as HIV,' says Australian Red Cross's Jo Shetliffe.
Working with trust, confidentiality and effective communication, the program hopes to reach increasing numbers of sex workers. Scarlet Alliance has helped develop an effective way for sex workers to share information with their peers about health and HIV, communication and negotiation skills and the rights of sex workers.
'Once they have the skills and information, they'll be able to run with it themselves - they won't be dependent on technical support,' says Jo.
The first reported HIV case in Mongolia was in 1992. The rate of infection has remained low compared with surrounding countries like China and Russia, but is now on the rise. There are 36 reported cases of HIV in Mongolia and 60 per cent of the female cases are sex workers, although it is estimated that there are around another 475 unreported cases.
While the pilot 100 per cent condom-use program initially reduced STI incidence in nearby Darkhan Uul province, it also 'creates opportunities for harassment and discrimination,' according to Elena. This adds to existing stigma and can lead people to conceal their activities, which threatens their health and can make them more vulnerable.
Through this program, sex workers are empowered to understand their rights and advocate for better treatment in Mongolia. Education will be central to the program, as the United Nations cites a lack of awareness about sexual health issues as one of the major factors in the spread of STIs in Mongolia.
'We hope that sex workers in Mongolia progress to have strong advocacy and their voices heard, not only by Mongolian Red Cross but also by the Mongolian Government,' says Elena.
'The program has only been developed in certain provinces, and there is a lot of interest from local government and other non-government organisations,' says Jo.
Those involved also hope that the program will help change Mongolian policy toward sex workers, shifting to a holistic, non-discriminatory attitude toward sexual health and HIV.
'Sexual health is an entire social responsibility - sex workers aren't the only community affected, and everybody has the right to access HIV information and protection,' says Elena.
'With the right support, sex workers in Mongolia will be recognised as the safe sex leaders that they are - educating the broader community about protected sex.
'This project recognises that sex workers are central to the response to HIV in Mongolia, for the sex worker community and beyond,' says Elena.
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