«3 March: International Sex Workers' Rights Day»
Joint statement by organizations working with and for trans communities.
3 March marks the anniversary of the historic march launched by thousands of sex workers in India in 2001 to demand their rights!
Today, from Türkiye, we salute the legacy of that struggle. March 3 is not merely a date on the calendar; it symbolizes a global voice raised for the recognition of sex workers' labor, for working conditions free from violence, and for the demand for equal citizenship.
Yet we commemorate this meaningful day amid acute rights violations in Türkiye, intensified under the declaration of the “Year of t he Family” which directly targets the living and working spaces of sex workers.
Today, sex workers are subjected to systematic repression under vague justifications such as “public morality” and “public order”.
Over the past year, this regime of pressure in Türkiye has evolved into a process in which arbitrary home sealings have become normalized, judicial harassment and open targeting have increased, and allegations of ‘obscenity’ have been transformed into systematic tools of punishment for sex workers.
Our constitutional right to housing is being violated through unlawful home sealings; sex workers pushed onto the streets are exposed to economic violence through arbitrary and unjust administrative fines imposed under the Misdemeanors Law.
Efforts to exist and create working spaces in digital spheres are also criminalized; social media posts and online communication activities are used as grounds for investigations and prosecutions under claims of “obscenity” and “immorality”, keeping sex workers under constant threat of judicial harassment.
These punitive practices not only push sex workers into deeper poverty but also render them unprotected and vulnerable to hate crimes, physical violence, and systematic abuse.
For trans sex workers, these violations intersect with social exclusion and employment discrimination, resulting in even harsher isolation and life-threatening risks.
As organizations working with and for trans communities, we firmly assert that sex workers are entitles to full and equal rights, and that our labor must be legally recognized and protected. The closure of safe working spaces, the sealing of brothels, and policies that force people into unregistered and precarious work disregard occupational safety and endanger our lives.
We raise our voices against all arbitrary and unlawful practices, against stigmatizing language, and against impunity policies that fuel violence.
On this March 3, we once again declare:
In the face of criminalization and isolation, our greatest strength is our organized struggle and solidarity.
We will continue to defend one another's rights and stand shoulder to shoulder in courts, in the streets, and in every sphere of life.
We will not give up our right to and desire for an equal, just, and violence-free life.
For our rights and our lives, we stand side by side!
---
• Pink Life LGBTI+ Solidarity Association.
• Red Umbrella Sexual Health and Human Rights Association.
• 20 November Association Against Hate Crimes.
• Mersin LGTB 7 Colors Research and Solidarity Association.
• Kapsama Alanı.
Signatory International Organizations:
• SWAN: The Sex Workers' Rights Advocacy Network.
• ESWA: European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance.
• Red Umbrella Athens.
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥 👠🇹🇷🏳️⚧️
@eswa-network
#ISWRD #ISWRD2026 #Turkey #Türkiye #Europe #CEECA #ESWA #ESWA #SWAN #RedUmbrellaAthens
![«¡Despenaliza nuestras vidas!»
Día Internacional de la Mujer: Una Visión Compartida del Feminismo.
[logos: ESWA, EuroNPUD, SAFE, Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice.]
[Arriba, centrado, un símbolo feminista en rojo, como pintado, y a sus lados un paraguas rojo (símbolo de solidaridad con las trabajadores sexuales) y el símbolo de los/as trabajadores/as de salud, también en rojo. A lo largo de la imagen también puede verse: una mano en un guante de nitrilo sosteniendo un (símbolo de) corazón, otra mano ondeando una bandera del Orgullo LGTBI+ inclusivo, otra mano con un altavoz, y en el fondo una imagen difuminada de varias mujeres sosteniendo pancartas (la única legible siendo “Por eso que me hicieron y no he contado”).]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7sezvfn3o2upf7ejux3tqsq5/bafkreid555yyeufd7z24nyt6psflj5kt7ysakglyjwj3j3wc75z75zayge)
![«Decriminalise Our Lives!»
International Women's Day: Shared Vision for Feminism.
[logos: ESWA, EuroNPUD, SAFE, Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice.]
[At the top, centred, there's a feminist symbol, and on its left and right a red umbrella (sex work solidarity symbol) and the health care workers symbol in red. Around the image can be seen: a gloved hand holding a heart symbol, a hand flying the inclusive Pride flag, a hand holding a loudspeaker, and a faded-out photo of several women holding cardboards with text (the only one legible being “Por eso que me hicieron y no he contado”, Spanish for “For those things they did to me which I haven't told on”.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7sezvfn3o2upf7ejux3tqsq5/bafkreibp66le2w5ynq4j7oypdojpbccmjff6lwk4gjxhhq76iioyt7p3fu)
![[Montage of images containing the rest of the declaration. Contents in post.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7sezvfn3o2upf7ejux3tqsq5/bafkreig4xinhpp5q264pohkwn2igdu6fmy6yh25h67pao6wb5c2ad5wiem)
![[Communicate and signatories. See post.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7sezvfn3o2upf7ejux3tqsq5/bafkreibgp2mhus3zdhwstlmdxcjw7tztjpslvcvagmspkcxgxhe7fabtvm)
![[Your ESWA Monthly cover.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7p4pbes77hhseeifiozhobxl/bafkreihz4enk2rzd7girup5lumfs2dmx5jdodklwts4mjfnioaobvcpw4u)
![[A montage of quotes from ESWA's video premiere. Under each one there are ESWA's and ‘WhoreTV’ logos.]
“It's a triggering subject, it's very hard to have communication that isn't insults. For me that represents a collective opportunity to work on our communication.” — Sex worker, France.
“Sex work saved my life at a time when no one else, no one even my closest family, wanted to help me.” — Sex worker, Poland.
“When people say my customers are creepy, I answer: they are your fathers, your brothers, your uncles, your friend.” — Sex worker, Germany.
“When we have a good day at work and perhaps we express that, people go like “Oh, they're fine. They don't need more rights”. But we don't have any rights.” — Sex worker, France.
“I am so tired of having to explain to people: it is my work. It is my livelihood. It is my career.” — Sex worker, Germany.
“Due to lack of opportunities, we trans women are often left with no choice but to do sex work. We have no other way to survive.” — Sex worker, Spain.
“There is often little awareness or understanding of our realities. We are people too; we feel, and we also need opportunities to progress in every aspect of our lives.” — Sex worker, Spain.
“It doesn't matter what gender or orientation, we are sex workers. Some of us want to be sex workers. The most important thing is that we help each other.” — Sex worker, Spain.
[Four quotes skipped on this alt — because they don't fit and they're in que quoted post's second image as well.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7sezvfn3o2upf7ejux3tqsq5/bafkreig7zgo4jhqnpkmo4gdoptazqcnnwv3jk3bu4wobvy5pl44n5td6mu)
![[Montage of posts, announcements and materials related to ESWA's February 2026 newsletter, on top of the newsletter's cover image.]
[Montage includes:
- The premiere of ESWA's community video on March 3rd,
- The first of Scotland for Decrim's posts on their successful campaign against the introduction of the ‘Nordic Model’ there,
- SWAN's note on the completion of the fundraiser for Legalife Ukraine,
- The cover of the book «Transformations of Labour through the Lens of Sex Work»,
- And the cover of the booklet «Work is a part of you: on Sec workers' mental and sexual health».]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7sezvfn3o2upf7ejux3tqsq5/bafkreid3kijewrywxzc6mxwrx5aq5nwhnu2xawpr5sp7ag735s3yc3n4pm)
![«Here's What Sex Workers Want You to Know»
[logos: WhoreTV, ESWA.]
Join us for the video premiere:
March 3rd 2026, 3pm CET,
YouTube.com/@SexWorkEurope](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7sezvfn3o2upf7ejux3tqsq5/bafkreiaopej3ogjpc6ogvlix6psm44duhncrinjivebuln6dtro3grvvxu)
![[A montage of quotes from ESWA's video premiere. Under each one there are ESWA's and ‘WhoreTV’ logos.]
“All I want is for my work not to make me a target.” — Sex worker, Armenia.
“It is a profession, a trade that many of us choose to practice under all circumstances.” — Sex worker, Spain.
“We sell much more than sex. It's the loneliness that the system produces that makes us so needed.” — Sex worker, France.
“I wish people were curious about sex work, not as in fascinated by a taboo, but open-hearted and open-minded.” — Sex worker, Germany.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7sezvfn3o2upf7ejux3tqsq5/bafkreiafyyccxnsi6riwzylkxsshzkotctxhs5bchfwp5u3gqnz2dg3e34)
