hurriyet.com.tr: Turkey's prostitutes seek to establish a union
Turkey's prostitutes seek to establish a union
Activists and sex workers in Turkey are working on a project to establish Turkey’s first "sex workers" union. They are hopeful about finding a solution to their problems and changing society’s approach toward sex workers. They will organize an awareness walk to bring attention to their issues. Prostitution is mentioned in the Turkish Penal Code and sex workers have to be registered according to the law. However, statistics show that many sex workers are unregistered and have no health or social security. “Only 126 sex workers are registered in Istanbul, but the real number is much higher than this,” said Muhtar Çokar, a doctor who helps sex workers access free and easy medical support.
“The number of registered sex workers in Turkey is 3,500 according to police data,” said Çokar. “That is too small a number compared to Ankara Trade Chamber, which said there are around 100,000 unregistered sex workers in total in Turkey.”
Labels: Labor Unions, Prostitution, Turkey
