Description
Women working in the sex-industry in the Czech Republic are a group which faces violence from the police structures. Violence takes the form of both verbal and physical attacks, and degrading treatment, but also the culture and downplaying of the violent acts which these women are exposed to at work. Such behaviour is known as structural violence and is a significant barrier to accessing justice. The sex-workers themselves find violence from the police to be a major problem. The project therefore aims to improve the status of women working in the sex-industry, facing structural violence caused by the police, and to allow them to access to justice through an open expert discussion on this issue and providing assistance in cases where such violence occurs. The basic principle of the project is the participation of actors – they will be part of the team, they will take part in research and an internship which should also be attended by the police. Together, strategies preventing sexual violence will be formulated. The project consists of sexual violence research, transfer of experience from Norway and other participants who will be given the publication, and legal as well as social e-counseling shall be operated.
Summary of project results
It was necessary in Czech society to introduce a very strong topic – violence against women committed by the police and state bodies – and to start proposing solutions. We knew that the most difficult part would be presenting the issue to the professional public, especially the police. However, thanks to the working group and negotiations with several institutions, we have achieved the impossible – bringing all the participants together to one round table: women, the municipal and national police, the state administration from crime prevention divisions and the city districts where various repressive regulations make it difficult to defend oneself against this type of violence . The next stage was the draft strategy to tackle the situations of structural violence. This was a joint work of all concerned by the problem, including the research subjects. The proposed strategy for addressing structural violence is available in a publication on the Bliss without Risk organisation’s website and in the form of a book. We also included in it research results from Norway; the local view of the repressive delineation of space or of the work with women was one of the important points of discussion. The Bliss without Risk organisation is the first organisation in our country to deal with the issue of violence against women in the sex industry in depth, and the presented research on structural violence is unique and revolutionary. We believe that the project will help persuade the involved structures that women in need in the sex industry should seek the police, not avoid it as it has been the case so far.
Summary of bilateral results
We met the partner “Pro Sentret“ during the internship carried out in frame of the project in Oslo, Norway. There we learned more about their work and research projects undertaken by the organization and shared the know-how. We also had the opportunity to study their work deeper, and subsequently benefit from their experience. The partner continually commented on the project outputs. Partner attended our conference 16. 6. 2016 and contributed specialist articles in publications.