As the world marked Valentine’s Day on Friday, 14th February 2014, community paralegals in Nairobi condemned violations against sex workers and vowed to champion their rights. This was the culmination of a weeklong training on HIV, Human Rights and the Law organized by Health Options for Young Men on AIDS and STIs (HOYMAS), with technical support from KELIN, where the trainees committed to advocating for equal protection by the law. The five days of training were undertaken at the Sex Workers Prevention Program (SWOP) clinic learning site in down town Nairobi. The thirteen paralegals were selected from male sex workers living and working within the County.
During the training, the participants shared their experiences and were able to prioritize key areas that required immediate legal interventions. Key issues of concern included lack of friendly health care services which they attributed to prejudice and misconceptions about men who have sex with men. Arbitrary arrests and harassment by the police was another major issue discussed with regular demands for bribes being solicited at known hot spots. An additional challenge highlighted was the increasing cases of physical and sexual violence, which go unreported more often than not, and where reported, remain uninvestigated. Gaps identified in programming included the need to sensitize sex workers on research ethics and a more informed national strategy to reach out to sex workers’ clients to boost safer sex practices.
With a better understanding of the legal system and the various provisions of the law that impact the rights of key populations in Kenya, the trained paralegals are equipped to give basic legal support to their community. They plan to scale up human rights awareness among fellow sex workers and provide basic legal services with support from KELIN’s pro bono advocates. They also intend to document human rights violations and collect evidence for policy advocacy within Nairobi County. This will involve field work with periodical trainings on specific challenges faced.
“I never thought the laws in Kenya could be used to advance our (male sex workers) rights. The legal education that I have received is really important. Now I know the rights that I am entitled to and some government bodies that I can go to for help. I even met a police man who was openly willing to work with us to address violations against sex workers! This was great.” shared Ben (name changed) a sex worker, in appreciation of the training.
KELIN in partnership with HOYMAS will continue to provide mentorship and guidance to the trained paralegals as they extend legal aid to members of this marginalized group. We hope to raise additional resources to scale up this initiative through organized networking forums with key duty bearers and legal aid clinics to reach out to key stakeholders in the actualization of HIV related human rights for sex workers.
During the training, the participants shared their experiences and were able to prioritize key areas that required immediate legal interventions. Key issues of concern included lack of friendly health care services which they attributed to prejudice and misconceptions about men who have sex with men. Arbitrary arrests and harassment by the police was another major issue discussed with regular demands for bribes being solicited at known hot spots. An additional challenge highlighted was the increasing cases of physical and sexual violence, which go unreported more often than not, and where reported, remain uninvestigated. Gaps identified in programming included the need to sensitize sex workers on research ethics and a more informed national strategy to reach out to sex workers’ clients to boost safer sex practices.
With a better understanding of the legal system and the various provisions of the law that impact the rights of key populations in Kenya, the trained paralegals are equipped to give basic legal support to their community. They plan to scale up human rights awareness among fellow sex workers and provide basic legal services with support from KELIN’s pro bono advocates. They also intend to document human rights violations and collect evidence for policy advocacy within Nairobi County. This will involve field work with periodical trainings on specific challenges faced.
“I never thought the laws in Kenya could be used to advance our (male sex workers) rights. The legal education that I have received is really important. Now I know the rights that I am entitled to and some government bodies that I can go to for help. I even met a police man who was openly willing to work with us to address violations against sex workers! This was great.” shared Ben (name changed) a sex worker, in appreciation of the training.
KELIN in partnership with HOYMAS will continue to provide mentorship and guidance to the trained paralegals as they extend legal aid to members of this marginalized group. We hope to raise additional resources to scale up this initiative through organized networking forums with key duty bearers and legal aid clinics to reach out to key stakeholders in the actualization of HIV related human rights for sex workers.
