Cabiria

University

Sabine — 2010-03-19T09:49:23Z

Multicultural University for solidarity, citizenship and knowledge

WORKSHOPS

French, English
Computer
Geopolitics
Administration laws
Dance
Singing
Theater
Etc...

Research

Sabine — 2010-03-19T09:48:29Z

Publications

Cabiria's Activity Report 2000 - Part 1 -

Activity Report 1999 How to Reduce a Group to Silence

Articles about prostitution

Public Health and trafficking in human being : Regional Conference on Public Health and trafficking in human being in Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe By: Françoise Guillemaut 19, 20, 21 mars 2003 This text is a lecture given last marsh in Budapest by Cabiria during a European Conference on trafficking in women.

Prostitution and repression in France : The point of view of Cabiria By: Françoise Guillemaut In: Research for Sex Work 4, 2001

Women, migration and health in France : The experience of Cabiria By: Gaëlle Téqui and Françoise Guillemaut In: Research for Sex Work 5, 2002

About Cabiria

Sabine — 2010-03-19T09:45:21Z

1. Short historical note

Cabiria was born out of an action-research project on the prostitution area of Lyon done by the Research Center for Anthropological Studies - in collaboration with prostitutes.

2. Context and methods

Community health projects were born during the nineties, in the context of the struggle against AIDS. Still today, prostitution is treated according to the 60's regulations that organise the fight against prostitution, long considered "a social plague". This fight included a repressive dimension, that we won't discuss, and a social dimension that organises the conditions that have to be set up in order to reintegrate prostitutes and to get them out of prostitution. The 60's regulations consider prostitutes as victims who need help in raising their consciousness about their oppression and in getting them out of prostitution. This approach implies a psycho-social treatment of prostitution aimed at reintegrating prostitutes into professional lifestyle. The structures created in France at that time were based on this philosophy of social action in a context of widespread pimping. The health or prevention of STDs are not really taken into consideration - partly in reaction to the anterior regulationist system that organised a sanitary control of prostitution.

3. A rupture in the treatment of prostitution : the HIV epidemic

The development of the HIV epidemic at the end of the eighties deeply changed the outlook on prostitution. It's also important to note that the fight between the sixties and the eighties against pimping has been successful in France.

In 1992-93, a number of projects were born in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nîmes, and Montpellier as well as in AIDeS committees. These projects were initially supported by associations such as the ANRS in Paris, a piloting committee in Lyon, and AIDes in Marseille. These projects progressively became autonomous and labeled themselves "Community Health Projects". There are seven projects today in France based on this same model but with slight variations.

Our work method is inspired by the communitarian approach developed by AIDeS in it's fight against AIDS. We understood that in order to develop preventative actions against STDs, HIV and hepatitis, it was important to work on the identity issue. This work is being done in the lesbian and gay community and has been successful in the reduction of infections in this community. The research and writings of Michael Pollock have also been an important resource. The parallel with the gay community is that the 60's regulations also considered homosexuality as a "social plague" that should be fought. This also illustrates how the perception of a social phenomenon is closely related to the social and historical context in which it exists.

The organisation of the gay community has been facilitated by it's technical, intellectual and financial resources. The prostitution community does not possess these same resources, and few people are able to mobilise the necessary technical skills in a timely manner for the creation and organisation of projects. That is why we have chosen a strategy of alliance : health professionals in collaboration with prostitutes.

We have also been inspired by certain undertakings in Latin America and the writings of Paolo Freire and the Chicago School.

Through their alliance with the prostitution "community" (the notion is reductive because people of all different social groups and backgrounds give life to prostitution), health professionals associate with those primarily concerned in order to determine the exact needs, objectives and actions. This coalition has led us to a definition of the most important criteria ensuring both the ethics and the efficiency of our actions.

The project concerns the most vulnerable groups.
Those most vulnerable are primarily included and concerned in the realisation of the project. The needs of the concerned group are the basis of the whole project. Trust will allow the expression and emergence of the individual needs and desires.
An innovative and experimental practice in comparison to the traditional sanitary approaches.
The project expresses a need that is not met by the existing institutions.
Fieldwork. Mutual information and formation instead of purely academic research.
Quick and concrete health actions for those concerned. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations.
Creation of a network of resource partners, chosen in function of community needs.
Coordination with existing institutions and groups working in a comparable way.
Efficiency of funds used.

4. Construction of an intervention method

(Largely developed in the activity reports of 97 and 98).

One of the focal points of our approach consists of focusing on the person's needs and desires. This transformation was brought about by the associations fighting AIDS. From an institutional approach - defined by the framework and missions of the 60's regulations - we've opted for more flexible proximity approaches. We've chosen to respect the individual, independent of her/his activities, background and/or life situation, without wanting to change her/him on any of these levels. We simply try to offer tools for health prevention and sanitary maintenance. We also try to provide tools to support social, administrative, human and civil rights issues. Initially, our work is sanitary-based, but a person's health can't be known without considering her/his daily social context.

Another tool and focal point of our project is proximity and mobility : we quickly organised 'mobile night accompaniment and reception units' i.e. camping trailers during the night.

We've opened the reception units and accompaniment locations as close as possible to the prostitution areas. One of the strong points of our intervention method is parity : we've built our project on a fifty-fifty basis with persons coming from the professional health world and from the prostitution community.

Our associations do not offer common social services but function rather as a catalyst for the start of a health and prevention process for oneself and the others. The associations also function as interface and mediator with social services or associations offering services and care. The prostitution communities thus develops a large network of institutional and associative support partners.

Often when people using an association have gained confidence and/or have started a process that has been successful, they can themselves share with their 'colleagues' the services they know. This is made possible because we develop a form of reception and accompaniment that is human and collective (not excluding individual follow up or confidentiality), where solidarity is one of the values most stressed. It's also a way of reinforcing their own skills, and self-reliance.

Action

Sabine — 2010-03-19T09:30:33Z

French sex workers face growing repression

Cabiria is a community-based health project implemented since 1993 working with and for sex workers. The field team as well as the steering comitee include sex workers, health workers and researchers. We are heterosexual, gay or lesbian, French or not, men, women or transgenders. Diversity is our weapon and tool in order to stay aware about discrimination and stigma.

Our outreach team works in the streets 4 nights and 4 days per week distributing condoms, lubricants and prevention pieces of advice about HIV, STD, hepatitis and pregnancy. We also work on addiction (alcohol or drugs) and harm reduction. Our premises are open 5 days a week from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m. We share a dinner twice a week, where anyone can join. The field team provides all sex workers with legal, medical and social support. We also work with lawyers to support migrant sex workers. Our fight for the respect of human right is essential, especially regarding violence from the police or from pimps or traffickers. We also have a research department with sex workers and we carry on researches on gender, violence and migration.

Since the latest presidential elections, we noticed a real change in government policy. Sex workers have been facing an all-out police repression caused by anti-prostitution municipal orders in several French towns (Orleans, Strasbourg, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon…) and by a bill proposed by the new Home Secretary. This bill plans that soliciting will be punished by a 6 months prison sentence and a 3 750 € fine. Migrants will be expulsed whether they have got a residence permit or not when they will be seen working the street by the police.

The municipal order in Lyon has been in force since August, 1st. Repression gradually increased. Sex workers are harassed, frightened and jailed ; likened to delinquents, threatened, sent back to clandestinity and permanently exposed to violence. Since May, we have been writing all kind of repression that have been facing sex workers in a journal that is already 20 pages long. There is a real increase in violence. This is violence from the police, from clients and from inhabitants. French population seems to be thinking that there is now impunity and that they have the right to trouble sex workers because so does the government. We organised a demonstration on August, 13th in front of the City Hall. We were about 50 people, Cabiria's workers and French, East European and African sex workers. Then at the beginning of September, we met members of the City Hall and exposed us the consequences that we already noticed in the sex workers community.

That is the increasing of violence towards sex workers from clients, the police and inhabitants and the fear that is suffering the community. It didn't have any effect. Then we published 4 press releases through the media denouncing those municipal orders and the Sarkozy's bill. In October, the Home Secretary presented his bill to the Cabinet and once again, we organised a demonstration on October, 5th in Lyon to denounce it. We were more than 400 people from several organisations and sex workers of various nationalities. Later, on November 5th in Paris, on the day when it has been presented to the Senate we co-organised a national demonstration gathering 1000 people from various cities (Marseille, Lille, Metz, Lyon, Toulouse, Avignon, Paris. The left wing groups of senators accepted to receive a 6 sex workers representatives delegation. Then, on November, 26th the law commission of the National Assembly invited us to a round-table where we explained again the terrible consequences of such a law. Especially concerning migrant women that will suffer from a double discrimination. Added to a sentence in France (which will exclude them from application to administrative legalisation), they will be expelled. Then, they will suffer from exclusion from their family and some of them will be murdered or will join again trafficking networks.

The rapporteur of the commission hardly listened to sex workers and kept repeating that this law was supposed to fight against transnational bribery and pimping. The day after, we read in a newspaper article (Le Monde) that this Mp, the rapporteur was implicated in money laundering! There is no real proof that he really is, so we cannot hope that it will change anything. But isn't it ironic? Now, we are waiting for the examining of the bill by the Assembly on January 14th. Then the Senate will look at it again and it will certainly be in force at the beginning of February.

France is now facing a demagogic psychosis that leads politicians to take measures that criminalize prostitution, poverty and youth. The bill also provides that homelesses will be prosecuted as well as young people gathering in building lobbies. It is just a manner to attract a numerous electorate composed by middle classes that have been manipulated by the media. Since the presidential elections, TV and newspapers have been broadcasting programs and interviews that focused on growing insecurity. Few people denounced the bill. We were the first to initiate resistance by publishing press releases and communicating with the media since the end of June.

It is only since October that other organisations have started to denounce it. We are now lobbying the political sphere and hope that some member of parliament will understand that they cannot agree with such a bill.