A short description of a project by the TAMPEP International Foundation
in partnership with the Latvian Gender Problem Centre (NGO “GENDERS”) financed
by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Matra Programme). 01.01. 1999 - 31.10. 2003.
Project Nr. LV 98/03
Description of the recipient country where the project is to be implemented:
Latvia is a highly urbanized country: Riga, the capital of Latvia covers
one third of all of the republic’s population. There are three big harbors
in Latvia.
In recent years, prostitution has become an increasingly emerging social,
medical and epidemiological problem in the Baltic States, including Latvia.
Therefore there is an urgent need for the creation of an interdisciplinary
intervention activity in the field of health promotion and social care among
sex workers in Latvia. At this moment there is no structural policy regarding
social and health care for sex workers although the phenomenon of prostitution
is rapidly growing. This lack of health and social care puts these women
into a most vulnerable position. Because of this, these women are seriously
being at risk of STD and HIV infection. Above this, the phenomenon of transnational
prostitution has been escalating during recent years and there is little
experience and skills in HIV/STD prevention among sex workers, nor is there
much knowledge of outreach/peer education in this country.
Description of the target group:
Female sex workers who are operating in Riga, Jurmala and Jelgava. They
work mainly on the streets, partly in night and sex clubs, hotels, bars
and escort services.
According to estimations of the Latvian Gender Problem Center (NGO “GENDERS”),
the total amount of women working in this industry is approximately 10’000
to 15’000.
Project’s long-term objectives:
To reduce risk of HIV/STD
infection among female sex workers in Latvia;
To introduce and develop
an effective and realistic model of multifaceted prevention strategies
based on non-discriminatory policies and to promote these prevention polices
in co-operation with local governmental and non-governmental health and
social services;
To create a strong commitment
for promotion of prostitution policies based on principle of treating sex
workers with dignity, respect and confidentiality and to promote their
health, safety and civil rights;
To develop a common
quality standards of HIV/STD intervention among sex workers which could
be applied in other countries of the region;
To support the creation
of community based projects by directly involving sex workers in the activities
of the intervention strategies.
Project’s short-term objectives:
To provide sex workers
with information and sanitary prevention;
To promote the use of
safe sex techniques in prostitution;
To identify social and
health service providers and to make their services available, appropriate
and accessible to sex workers;
To gather quantitative
and qualitative data concerning the phenomenon of prostitution, its different
forms, its transformation and its impact on the territory;
To introduce the notion
of peer education, to ensure its correct application, to conduct trainings
for peer educators and to perform evaluation of the impact of peer education.
Description of instruments available for achieving the project’s
objectives:
There are three groups of instruments:
I. Technical support by TAMPEP:
assistance in assessing
the needs in a given prostitution area: mapping the prostitution scene,
identifying target groups and determining their habits and culture;
assistance in project
design;
training of street workers
and cultural mediators according to the training modules prepared by TAMPEP;
training of medical
and paramedical staff;
methodological assistance
concerning:
* collecting data
* intervention methods used in the field
* methods of evaluation concerning the results of the intervention
supplying TAMPEP materials
(multi-lingual, including Russian) which are to be adapted to any local
situation if necessary (translation into Latvian language);
methodological and technical
assistance in developing materials;
assistance with the
introduction and implementation of TAMPEP’s peer education method. TAMPEP’s
manual about peer education is written in seven languages including Russian;
technical support concerning
creation of networks and various forms of collaboration on a national and
regional level between public health authorities, policy makers, police,
proprietors of prostitution venues and others.
II. Organization structure
formed by project group, operating group and support group.
This organization structure is created in order to ensure the realization
of the above-mentioned long-term objectives and in order to create a steady
and stabile basis and infrastructure for the maintaining and continuation
of the activities and in order to guarantee the commitment of all parties
and bodies to the philosophy of the project. It also has a prime task to
seek the necessary support, co-operation, contacts etc. with the local GOs.
III. Instruments of execution of prevention activities at the local
level:
street intervention
units formed by outreach workers;
drop-in center for sex
workers with an offer of medical services;
research in order to
carry out the mapping of the scene, gathering information and evaluation
of the target group needs;
networking interventions
with local health and social services providers;
dissemination of results,
exchange of experiences, co-operation with other projects in the geographical
region (Baltic countries, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine).
Description of expected results:
Nation-wide capacity
to implement HIV/STD prevention among sex workers in Latvia will have been
increased;
Through the training,
monitoring and co-operating among various bodies, there will have been
a built up of a larger capacity for strategic planning, policy development,
resource allocation and development of management system;
Health care delivery
and management of support system for sex workers will have been integrated
within the services offered by the drop-in center;
The risk of HIV/STD
infection among sex workers in three major cities of Latvia will have been
reduced a general modal of HIV/STD prevention project for sex workers according
to the EU guidelines and quality standards as developed by the EU network
TAMPEP/Europap will have been introduced and implemented;
Through integration
of activities concerning reproductive health of sex workers into the prevention
and health care activities, reduction of risk of unwanted pregnancies will
have been acquired;
A network of social
and health services which provide sex workers with non-discriminatory health
promotion programmes will have been created;
A broad support and
commitment from local authorities will have been created. It will have
lead to the adaptation of a health system for sex workers which is based
on their voluntary and free participation as opposed to a mandatory system
of control being now in force in Latvia;
New and innovative instruments
for health promotion activities for sex workers (adequate information materials,
drop-in center, outreach work, peer education, community base organizations
with direct involvement of sex workers) will have been created. The drop-in
center for sex workers will form a basic instrument for carrying out of
these health promotion activities. The continuity of the activities of the
drop-in center will be the guarantee for the durability of the project;
A model of adequate
intervention through the pilot project Moon Light which would serve as
an example for neighboring countries will have been created. This model
of prevention strategies and policies will stay for guarantee for the replication
in other countries.
Licia Brussa, General co-ordination and International Networking
Hanka Mongard, Cultural mediatrix for Central and Eastern
European women and International Networking
TAMPEP International Foundation
Westermarkt 4
1016 DK Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 624 71 49 Fax: +31 20 624 65 29
E-mail: tampep@xs4all.nl
Partner organization:
Tatiana Kurova, Director and General co-ordination
NGO “GENDERS”, the Latvian Gender Problem Center
Caka St., 91/93 room 9
Riga LV-1011 Latvia
Tel/Fax: +371 7 315899
E-mail: gender@parks.lv