People Who Made a Difference in 2010
WWAV’s Executive Director, Deon Haywood, was recognized in TheBody.com 2010 HIV/AIDS Community Spotlight:
“One of the main takeaways from Transforming the National AIDS Response: Advancing Women’s Leadership and Participation was that there is amazing work being led by women, yet so many of these women go unrecognized. Deon Haywood is one of those women.
“Haywood runs Women With a Vision, Inc., (WWAV) in New Orleans, La. WWAV was co-founded by Haywood’s mother and several other black women in 1991 as a social service organization “to promote wellness and disease prevention for women and their families living at or below the poverty line.” It was created as a response to the non-existence of HIV prevention resources for women who were the most at risk: poor women, sex workers, women with substance abuse issues and transgender women…”
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
December 17, 2010 by WWAV
Filed under Empowerment, Featured
In honor of International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, Women With A Vision, Inc. celebrated the hard earned achievements of our members harmed by Louisiana’s Solicitation of Crime Against Nature statue.
Over the past year we have been working diligently in addressing the needs of women impacted by this statue—mobilizing resources and opportunities to better serve their needs, advocating for the decriminalization of sex work, and educating social service advocates and policy makers on its negative impacts. Unconstitutional laws and statues, such as SCAN, increase violence against women and exacerbate structural factors of criminalization, poverty, economic discrimination, HIV vulnerability, and the poor availability of drug treatment care.
As we continue to fight for the human rights protection of street-based sex workers and their families, we took time out over the holiday season to celebrate the accomplishments of our members who have overcome many obstacles as they work to rebuild their lives.
Wellness Works!
At Women With A Vision, we believe that community health begins with women’s wellness. Through education, advocacy and support, we work alongside women to address the social conditions that hinder their health and well-being, proving that Wellness Works!
UN Spotlight on Sex Worker’s Rights
In 2010, the Best Practices Policy Project joined with the Desiree Alliance to research and describe the state of sex workers’ rights in the United States to be included as one of only five US presentations to be part of the Sexual Rights Initiative reporting back to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Universal Periodic Review.
This report found that sex workers in the United States, especially those from communities of color and low-income LGBT communities, are subject to police harassment, extortion and false arrest. Policing also undermines sex workers ability to protect their sexual health because condoms and other safe sex equipment are used as evidence against them. In some parts of the United States people detained for violating anti-prostitution laws are subjected to mandatory testing and face much more serious penalities if they are found to be HIV positive.
A significant rights violation is the placement of sex workers in some jurisdictions like New Orleans on “sex offender registry” lists that limits where they can live, work, and more. We at Women With A Vision are proud to be part of this important policy campaign.
