Brussels festival ending stigma around escorts and sexwork
2023-12-16
elrond
The bustling Saturday night at Beursschouwburg arts center in downtown Brussels was a whirlwind of excitement and energy. A captivated crowd packed the theatre, with eager attendees standing in the corridors and perched on the stairs, all eager to witness the main performance at the SNAP! (Sex Worker Narratives and Politics) Festival. Amidst this fervor, a woman adorned in an '80s disco bodys .....
Brussels to name a street after a sex worker
2021-09-19
elrond
Brussels is to honour a sex worker with a street named after her. The Nigerian escort Eunice Osayande was murdered after being forced into prostitution to pay back her trafficking fees and rent. She had approaced a sex work charity for help, but failed to contact the police because of her immigration status. She was killed by a 'customer' who stabbed her 17 times.
Pr .....
Brussels launches campaign to vaccinate sex workers
2021-06-05
elrond
Brussels’ Common Community Commission (COCOM), which manages the Region’s vaccination policy, launched a campaign focused on the vaccination of sex workers, since they will be allowed to resume their work from 9 June.
People in Brussels who want to be vaccinated are asked to register at one of the Region’s ten vaccination centres. “However, if a person requests it, we .....
Brussels sex workers file complaint against landlords
2021-02-19
elrond
Several sex workers from the Brussels North Quarter in Saint-Josse-ten-Node are filing a complaint against their landlords for the high rent prices during the coronavirus crisis, sex worker union UTSOPI announced on Thursday.
The sex workers themselves had been summoned to court earlier, for not paying their rent. However, the workers are now stating that the landlords are taking advantage o .....
Food tickets for sex workers ‘not enough’ to survive Brussels prostitution ban
2020-11-05
elrond
The food tickets that the French Community Commission (COCOF) is financing for sex workers in Brussels will “definitely not be enough” to survive the Covid-19 crisis, according to sex worker organisation UTSOPI.
In response to a demand for financial support from sex workers following Brussels latest ban on sex work in the Region, the COCOF released a budget to offer food tickets .....
Sex workers demand support following Brussels latest prostitution ban
2020-10-28
elrond
Belgian sex worker union UTSOPI is asking for concrete financial support measures for the sex workers in Brussels who can no longer work due to the prostitution ban across the Region.
As bars and restaurants have been closed and contacts have to be kept to a minimum, UTSOPI understands the rule that sex work is no longer allowed until 19 November, but is asking for financial support for thos .....
Council of State overturns Brussels prostitution ban
2020-10-15
elrond
The Council of State has overturned a ban on street prostitution introduced in Brussels-City at the end of September by mayor Philippe Close (PS).
The Council ruled that a municipality does not have the authority to order such a ban, which can only be done by a regional or federal authority. .....
‘Virus is just an excuse’: Brussels sex workers angry over sudden prostitution ban
2020-10-01
elrond
Brussels’ sex workers are angry that they were not consulted before the City of Brussels sprung a prostitution ban on them on Monday evening, in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus in the city.
“The biggest issue is not even the ban, the issue is that it was sprung on us out of the blue,” Maes said. “What makes us upset most of all is that we were not cont .....
Sex workers say Brussels prostitution ban drives them underground
2020-10-01
elrond
Belgium’s capital has banned prostitution in certain districts in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. For sex-workers, however, the prohibition is a threat to their livelihoods.
Sex workers had to stop their activities on March 13, just a few days before a national lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They were all left with nothing,” said Marie, wh .....
Sex work allowed again in Saint-Josse from Tuesday
2020-06-24
elrond
The mandatory closure of sex work businesses in the Brussels’ commune of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode will be lifted immediately, it announced.
As in most other places in the country, sex workers will be able to resume their activities, provided they respect their back-to-work protocols and health regulations. .....