Dialogue on sex workers in Seychelles |02 August 2017

Prostitution is still illegal in Seychelles and the existing laws make sex workers vulnerable to police action, violence, problem with families among others.

Asserting that individuals who are sex workers enjoy an equal right to protection, a dialogue was organised at the Eden Bleu Hotel on Monday by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Intersex group (LGBTI),  and funded by the Aida Rights Alliance for South Africa (Arasa).

Present at the dialogue were health care professionals, social workers who were debating about how to better control and protect sex workers in Seychelles.

The main subject was the reduction of institutional, social and cultural stigma and policy barriers for the provision of medical health and psychosocial support for sex workers in Seychelles.

The vice-chairman of LGBTI Ronny Arnephy stated that in a recent research they realised that Seychelles has got approximately 586 sex workers.

“Such dialogue will allow us to implement a national project for the sex workers, the human rights of female sex workers are to be better protected and effort is being stepped up to ensure they get and are able to access health services and programmed in a friendlier environment. So many sex workers are currently facing many criticisms in our society, by having this dialogue it will allow us the social workers, health care professionals to better seek for solution to help those sex workers,” he said.

He added that sex workers continue to face criminalisation, violence, discrimination and other forms of human rights violence which increase their risk of acquiring HIV.

“Sex workers are at high risk of human right abuse in many countries, especially in our small islands. We want to implement a project to better protect them, and we should not judge them. It is unsurprising that many female sex workers feel negatively about their work, but interestingly, the source of the negativity they felt do not necessarily stem from their employment as sex workers. They are actually feeling fine with their work as they see it as a mark of being financially independent. Most of the women surveyed said their work is to support their families,” he said.

During the dialogue, consultant Benjamin Vel made a presentation on the national costed operational plan for sex workers.

There is growing evidence of the importance of addressing the structural and legal barriers that affect sex workers. Ending the Aids epidemic as a public health threat would require translating this evidence into practice, including by ensuring that governments and all stakeholders prioritise and intensify efforts to protect the human rights of sex workers and the social and cultural stigma among the society.