Nilgün Yurdalan

Sex workers are marginalized, beaten, killed. They are exposed to violence by family, policemen, media, men in the street, customers, neighbours. Sex workers had been struggling to form a union against the oppression they experience, and they held their first meeting for this aim on 2007, March. The foundation day of the Red Umbrella Union was on the International Sex Workers Day, 3 March 2008. Sex work is very widespread in Turkey but it is being neglected. Especially the sex work of trans people is generally mentioned through transphobia, hatred, and hate killings in which the murderers cannot be found. At about the time we made this interview with Belgin Çelik from Lambdaistanbul LGBT Solidarity Association (Lambdaistanbul LGBTT Dayanışma Derneği, Lambda) about the union and about the problems especially trans sex workers face, Dilek İnce was shot in the evening of 10 November 2008 with a gun by the head. Dilek İnce was one of the complainants and witneses of a court case about the charge against transvestites and transsexuals.

There is little time left for completing your works on the foundation of a union. What, in your opinion Belgin, will becoming unionized be solution to?

The work for the union is now predominantly held for/by the transvestites and transsexuals. Sex work is getting more and more widespread. Especially the transvestite and transsexual sex workers are always under the threat of death. No green cards, no social security. The social state is being mentioned but there is no security especially for the people working in the streets. This union is a must for those who do sex work outside of brothels, who have no social security, protection or insurance. Of course the sex workers in brothels have problems, as well. They are not provided insurance, even if done, the premium is not paid. The union will include all sex workers whereever they work, either in the street or in the brothel. Anyone who wants to be a member will make themselves registered.

In ‘60s, Veneral Disease Hospital used to give us trans people official papers with which we could go and have our examination. Since we had those papers, the police could not take us to the headquarters after the control in the street. Now, besides having no paper at all, if you are not a biological woman but a transvestite or transsexual, the doctor asks the questions only from the door, not even examining you in the room, saying that, “Go and give blood for examination”. Moreover, there are arbitrary custodies where humiliation and physical violence are applied. Beatings and killings do never cease. The punishments for transvestites and transsexuals are heightened according to the law of offense. There is the punishment of 125 TL, starting from the reason of occupying the pavement going to various reasons that you cannot imagine.

What do you think of the reasons why sex work increased this much?

First of all poverty and physical and sexual violence within family. In a very religious house of my family, I was raped by my uncle. They say the uncle is a half father, and indeed rape by father is also something much experienced. Or by brother, uncle, neighbour… But it is being kept as a secret. In order to escape from the violence in the family or from poverty… People have nowhere to go. When they cannot find jobs, there is sex work left. Big cities are migrated to for hiding it from the family and from close contacts. Very difficult and dangerous conditions are faced in order to be able to live there.

It is very difficult for sex workers to find jobs. We do not encounter transvestites or transsexuals in any work place…

It is impossibe to find work for trans people and transvestites. This is very obvious: The system forces them to do sex work. The state, the public and the media all appreciate the ones who donate to the army, who pay the most for the taxes but on the other hand, they kill the people who work in the streets. When we phone to apply for a job advertisment, we are asked to come but when they learn our being transvestites they say that there is no vacancy. AIDS is not a disease for homosexuals but it threatens sex workers more. Since there are no health controls, it is caught from the customers. When we are exposed to violence in the street, the policeman says that, “You deserve it.” The state, on one hand distributes condoms, and on the other hand claims the condom in our pocket a fault. Even those trans people who have professions cannot find jobs. They work in clubs if they find any vacancy but mostly cannot take their money.

The houses are locked up under seal and the people are forced to live in the streets…

Exactly. They are forced to live in the streets due to the raids and the locking ups on the houses. They have to have the intercourse in very unhealthy and dirty places especially in this period in which there is a great increase of HIV. Sometimes the houses are locked up for 3 months but still the rents are counted… The administration of the district both locks up the houses and fines people. The cats, the fish in the houses are stuck in… The electricity and the heating system is left working…

There is an atmosphere of ceaseless oppression in the districts…

Indeed, one of the reasons why we live problems with people within the district is the way how we are represented in the media. Also, our being ignored in law is another significant factor. People within the district act under the affect of the system and the media. Just like how they are trying to send Kurdish people away, we are told, “Hang up a Turkish flag if you are not a homosexual.” The flats are put into fire. The sellers in street shops and the pimps make a lot of money owing to sex workers. The value of a flat for 300 TL increases to 1000 TL. There is a great duplicity throughout all society. Like the rape, the violence against little children, against women… Do all of them together: speak about honour (namus), keep women under oppression, and abuse children sexually… Morals is a model that the state, the tradition, and the religion impose on us. One of the main caues why sex workers are exposed to this much discrimination and violence is the distinction made between moral-immoral. In this country, prostitution is not a crime if you pay the taxes.

You know that two old brothel workers, Ayşe Tükrükçü and Saliha Ermez, were candidates for the previous local elections. They made a campaign with feminists…

Their candidacy was very significant. I support their demands. Most people do sex work owing to poverty, violence, etc but some people do it willingly even though very few in number. So, it cannot be forbidden to the people who want to do it. Moreover, I want to add that not all political parties, women’s groups, and feminists are interested in sex workers and in what they experience. Within the feminists and even in Lambda, there are people against sex work. It is easy to tell not to do. No job, no guarantee. What else to do if not this?

When will the work for the union be realized?

We will be in the streets with red umbrellas on 3 March. We will invite all lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites, transsexuals to walk with the workers of Red Union for the problems of women sex workers, the pain experienced, and their solutions on “International Sex Workers Day”. We so often encounter the question, “Why red and why umbrella?” All over the world, the colour for sex workers is red and ‘red umbrealla’ has been used in organizations formed. We also wanted to continue with what other sex workers in the world have accepted.

From Amargi- Issue 11