The experts believe that decriminalisation of sex work is the best solution.
In Kazakhstan, existence of sex work is not recognised at the state level. At the same time, according to the Ministry of Healthcare, the estimated number of sex workers in the country in the first quarter of 2021 was 20,250. According to Gulzada Serzhan, co-founder of the Feminist Initiative “Feminita”, nothing significant has been done to protect the rights of sex workers over the past 30 years.
“The state authorities have insisted that “sex work” is absent on the official job list, so the “female sex workers” and “male sex workers” cannot exist. Thus, they deny the existence of female citizens who earn their livelihood by sex work or sex services,” says Serzhan.
In Kazakhstan, there is no criminal or administrative liabilities for engaging in sex work. However, the Code of Administrative Offences contains Article 449 “Harassment in Public Places”, under which the women are detained and fined.
“It is totally wrong, because these women do not harass anyone. They work in saunas, hotels, hostels. The police officers visit them. During quarantine restrictions, many women started working individually. They advertise the services online, many use webcams, they also promote themselves and tell their private phone numbers,” says Natalya Zholnerova, director of the public association “Ameliya”.
According to her, the age of sex workers is different, but the majority of them are between 18 and 25 years old.
Replying to the official request from the CABAR.asia journalist, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that every three years, they adopt a plan of measures to prevent and counter crimes related to human trafficking. They constantly monitor media and the Internet searching for the materials related to human trafficking. If applicable, the results are sent to the criminal prosecution authorities for the pre-trial investigation. In such cases, the illegal resources are blocked.
The government does not take any other measures to solve the problem. According to Gulzada Serzhan, the state “denies the reality”.
“If you close your eyes, you stop seeing the problem. Some NGOs raise issues related to the rights of sex workers, such as the right to health. However, the legalisation is not yet discussed. The society also treats sex work negatively, although everyone is well aware of its existence. Neither the state nor society is making an effort to recognise the existence of sex work and the engagement of female citizens in it,” Serzhan said.
Everything Which Is Not Forbidden Is Allowed
According to lawyer Zhangeldy Suleimanov, the legislation of Kazakhstan does not prohibit sex work when a person individually provides sexual services. However, the organisers of sex work in the country are prosecuted, and the maximum punishment is up to 7 years of imprisonment.
“Providing rooms for sex work is prohibited; a fine is provided for this. If someone involves minors in prostitution, a criminal punishment is provided for this,” Suleimanov said.
According to Zhangeldy Suleimanov, the individual sex work should not be prohibited. It is just one of thousands of services.
“They have the right to obtain the ‘self-employed entrepreneur’ status, they should pay taxes, receive insurance and submit a declaration. However, our society is not ready for this; half of the population is employed in grey economy,” Suleimanov says.
He notes that sex workers have the same rights as everyone else. These are the universal rights; the legislation does not protect only certain professions’ representatives.
Natalya Zholnerova shares a similar opinion. She believes that decriminalisation of sex work is the best solution.
“If sex work were legalised in Kazakhstan, some of the sex workers would receive benefits and a pension. However, some of the sex workers would work underground, because they would not want to pay taxes. I think decriminalisation of sex work is the best approach. Let it be, the main thing is that no one offends the women,” Zholnerova notes.
In turn, Gulzada Serzhan, co-founder of the Feminist Initiative “Feminita”, believes it is the fault of the state that some citizens engage in sex work: the state makes it difficult for trans women to obtain identity documents. Without documents, the women start working underground.
“A trans woman is not able to study or get a job without documents. The same situation probably applies to migrant women and other socially vulnerable groups who find themselves in the grey economy. People need to earn money and live,” says the human rights activist.
On Healthcare Access
Replying to the official request from the CABAR.asia journalist, the Committee of Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Healthcare noted that the main route of HIV transmission in Kazakhstan is sexual. It accounts for 63.5% of infections.
To prevent HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases, the systematic preventive work is carried out with sex workers. However, in the first quarter of 2021, out of 20,250 officially registered sex workers, only 44% were involved in the prevention programs (the provision of condoms and information and educational materials).
In addition, to ensure sex workers’ access to treatment of the sexually transmitted diseases on a free, confidential and anonymous basis, 29 ‘friendly’ medical rooms work in the republic: 24 at the “AIDS centres”, and 5 at other medical facilities (dermatovenerologic dispensaries, women’s health clinics, polyclinics).
According to Natalya Zholnerova, sex workers often agree to have sex without a condom, because they need to earn money. This increases the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and unwanted pregnancies. The state programs, in her opinion, are quite effective, but there are obstacles in access to these services.
For example, sex workers work at night, and sleep in the morning. At the same time, the “AIDS centres” are open only until 4 PM. Therefore, it would be more efficient to distribute rapid tests. In addition, free condoms are available to sex workers under the state program, but only 17 condoms per month. The experts say lubricants should be distributed along with them to reduce the risk of the condom breaking.
“In general, the state program functions, but it works differently in different cities. For example, in one city a woman can be tested for 10 different deceases, but in another - only for 2,” says the director of the public association “Ameliya”.
Title photo: nypost.com