08/08/2022
Sex workers are one of the most marginalized and invisible social groups in Greece and worldwide. The social stigmatization and exclusion they experience is multidimensional, as it is linked to the different minority identities they often carry (LGBTQ+, refugees, Roma, people who use intravenous drugs, unaccompanied minors, homeless, etc.). This has an aggravating multiplier effect, rendering sex workers extremely vulnerable at the social level.
More specifically, sex workers experience exclusion from work, systematic violations of their rights and are more vulnerable to violence. They are often unaware of their rights and experience difficulties in accessing legal services or making use of the social services on offer (due to the stigmatising way in which they are addressed by staff of the institutions who lack training in this area). They are deprived representation and visibility in the public sphere, and have no access to targeted information services on sexual and reproductive issues.
The aim of the project “Dana* – Empowering sex workers” is to contribute to the removal of social exclusion of sex workers and to their full integration as equal citizens into the social fabric, through the operation of the day centres, “Red Umbrella Athens” in Athens and “Red Umbrella Thessaloniki” in Thessaloniki.
*The word “dana” in kaliarda refers to a sex worker. Kaliarda was a slang of the LGBTQ+ community in Greece, which first appeared in the 1940s and was spoken as an inter-communal code of safety, especially for transgender sex workers. It was born out of the need for peer communication and self-protection by the individuals themselves in order to avoid being harassed by the often hostile outsiders.
TO WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED
- To people who work in the sex industry or provide sex services
- Service providers
- Stakeholders
- The general public
ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES
The project aims to empower sex workers through the provision of primary care services, prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, awareness regarding their rights and promotion of equal access to health services, with the direct aim of involving the community itself in the decision-making process that concerns them and raising their demands to institutional bodies.
About the Active citizens fund
The Active citizens fund in Greece is supported through a € 13.5 m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The program aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active citizens fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow.
More information: www.activecitizensfund.gr/en/
About the EEA Grants:
Τhe EEA Grants are jointly financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The EEA Grants are available to the 13 EU member countries that joined the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) in 2004, 2007 and 2013 as well as Greece and Portugal. The decision-making body of the EEA Grants is the Financial Mechanism Committee, which is composed of representatives of the Foreign Ministries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
More information: www.eeagrants.org, www.norwaygrants.org & www.eeagrants.gr
About the Bodossaki Foundation:
The Bodossaki Foundation is one of the most respected privately-owned public benefit organizations in Greece. The Foundation is the culminating point of its founder’s brilliant course in life and remains the carrying vessel of the values and ideas that he faithfully served throughout his eventful life. The Foundation was established in 1972 by Prodromos – Bodossakis Athanassiades who decided to donate his entire fortune to support health care, equal opportunities, quality in education, scientific progress and environmental protection. The Foundation has a deep knowledge of social needs in Greece and has administered so far more than €450m supporting its causes.
The Bodossaki Foundation also supports NGOs working with socially vulnerable groups and has lately set the strengthening of civil society as one of its primary objectives. Since 2013 it administers the regranting facilities of the EEA Grants for civil society in Greece.
More information: www.bodossaki.gr/en/
About SolidarityNow:
SolidarityNow (SN) is a non-governmental organization established in 2013 to respond to the needs, and advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, indiscriminately. SN’s Headquarters are in Athens, with large operations in Thessaloniki and activities across the country. The organization’s vision is to improve people’s lives and to empower them to create a just and inclusive society.
SN’s actions fall under three main strategic priorities: a) Promoting safety and protection; b) Catalyzing livelihoods opportunities; c) Strengthening the independence of civil society and defending open society values. SN has supported 320,000 people to date, both through direct project implementation and through regranting programmes. Through its regranting initiatives, SN has supported 73 different programs and provided a total funding of € 14.4M to support Greek civil society organizations.
More information: www.solidaritynow.org/en/
CONTACT
Project Manager: Konstantina Papastefanaki
E-mail address: info@positivevoice.gr
Telephone number: 2108627572