From The Straits Times    |

Unheard Voices of the Red Light District StoryTheirs are stories and life experiences we think we don’t have to care about, issues we’d prefer to block out, pretend not to exist. But the ongoing exhibition Unheard Voices of the Red Light District brings the lives of sex workers to the forefront, featuring interviews with 11 of those who work in the industry.

The installation is the brainchild of Project X, an initiative which advocates and fights for the rights of sex worker.

Its volunteers befriend these workers, listen to their stories, find out about their needs and even document the abuses.They also distribute essentials such as condoms, medical subsidies to them and hold regular public education events.

Project X prefers to use the neutral “sex worker” instead of the loaded “prostitute” to emphasise that sex work is work. And yes, sex workers do and should have rights — it all boils down to what every human being deserves.

“We all want a safe working environment. We all want a right to speak up for the injustices that we face, and for proper channels for redress to be in place,” says Vanessa Ho, who’s part of Project X. “And we’re all entitled to employment rights, as written out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Think about it: If someone treats you badly at work, there’s often someone you can turn to for help. For sex workers, there’s nowhere they can turn to when they encounter the horrors which inevitably come with the job.

“Being on the ground, we witness stuff like people shouting insults like ah gua, chicken, slut, disgusting and blatant sexual assault. We’ve also learned about violence from customers (especially drunk ones), customers who demand too much; who treat them roughly; who don’t understand “no”; who refuse to use a condom and more. And finally there is even violence from some law enforcers who entrap sex workers (they pretend to be customers, or have been customers), hurl insults or refuse to help sex workers who are victimised,” says Ms Ho.

And it’s with exhibitions such as this one which can hopefully decrease the discrimination faced by sex workers. By letting them speak for themselves, we get the real stories — what life as a sex worker is really like, how they came to be sex workers and more. Then it won’t be as easy to just brush them off as “immoral” and “asking for it”.

Visitors to the exhibition can also come forth as signatories on a letter which will be sent to Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam — a request for Project X to be able to speak with the relevant agencies which come into contact with sex workers. T-shirts ($15) will also be sold, and all proceeds will go to Project X.

Unheard Voices of the Red Light District is on from now to June 15, 12 – 9pm at The Substation Gallery. Log on to https://www.facebook.com/events/161661050622395/  or http://theprojectx.org/ for more.

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