Isabel The Witness: Police Officers Commit Crimes Against Sex Workers in Niterói

On May 23rd, more than 100 police officers invaded a building in the Center of Niterói where 300 women worked in prostitution. During the operation, the police robbed, committed extortion and raped sex workers. More than 100 women were detained for questioning and all of the apartments where they worked were closed and labeled as crime scenes. The police did not have judicial authorization for these acts. The Public Defenders Office of Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian Order of Lawyers publicly repudiated the illegality of all of the police actions. Today, hundreds of women are without a place to work and live. 2014-4:36

Representing her colleagues, Isabel denounced the police violence and illegal actions. Now her life is in danger.

For her safety, Isabel is in hiding.
She and her colleagues are being represented by the Public Defenders Office of Rio de Janeiro and supported by the Human Rights Commission of the State Legislature of Rio de Janeiro and the Prostitution Observatory at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, along with other national and international organizations.
from FotografiSenzaFrontiere ONLUS (a Non-Profit Organization)

Other Works

Tenofivir Trial in Cambodia (sex workers resist) APNSW, WNU NSWP
Brigada Callejera de Apoyo a la Mujer “Elisa Martínez”, AC
In South Africa, Sex Workers Arm Themselves with the Law
Traumboy by Daniel Hellman

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