Resources: Groups & Publications

AGISRA (Union Against International Sexual and Racist Exploitation) is a German-based umbrella organisation of groups that deal with sex tourism and forced prostitution. Groups in the coalition include Terre des Femmes and Caritas, and their work ranges from collecting information such as lists of traffickers to operating shelters for battered women. AGISRA, Mainzerlandstr. 147, D-6000 Frankfurt 1, Germany.

Asian Women’s Association, Shibuya Coop Rm. 211, 14-10, Sakuragaoka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150, Japan. Tel. 03 3463 9752. Fax 03 2780 5245. Publications in Japanese and bi-annual English-language magazine (US$10), including brochures in English, Thai and Tagalog on migrant women’s rights; organised the Thai Women Supporting Group in 1988 to support the work of Friends of Women in Thailand (which helps Thai prostitutes in Japan); produced 24-minute slide presentation (taped in English) on the importation and sexual exploitation of women into Japan called “Reaping the Whirlwind.”

Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, c/o Barbara Good, Sewall-Belmont House, 144 Constitution Ave., NE, Washington, DC 20002 USA. Tel. +1 202 546 1210. An international organization which has organised major conferences and which works at grassroots levels to provide services to women in need and also to update the 1949 United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others and the 1980 UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism, P.O. Box 178, Klong-Chan, Bangkok 10240, Thailand. This group works to stop the sexual exploitation of children, both girls and boys, by the sex tourism business.

A Vindication of the Rights of Whores edited by Gail Peterson, Seal Press, Seattle, Washington, USA. 1989. This includes a history of prostitutes’ organising themselves and mechanisms used to repress prostitutes since the late 19th century; history of the International Committee on Prostitutes’ Rights and testimony from the 2nd World Congress of Prostitutes (Brussels, 1986), and developments in countries such as Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Kenya, etc.

Sex Work. Writings by Women in the Sex Industry edited by F. Delacoste and P. Alexander, Virago Press, London, Britain. 1988. Over 30 women write about their experiences as prostitutes; four interesting theoretical articles looking at prostitution in feminist context; overview of prostitutes’ rights groups and annotated bibliography.

Good Girls/Bad Girls: Sex Trade Workers and Feminists Face to Face edited by L. Bell, Women’s Press, Toronto, Canada. 1987. Published as result of a conference in Ontario which explored various cultural, historical and political perspectives on pornography, prostitution and images of women in Canadian society.

“Poverty and Prostitution”, Women’s World, No. 24, Winter 1990/91. Excellent special issue on prostitution worldwide from Isis-Wicce, the women’s international resource centre. Articles on prostitution and sex tourism in Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe and elsewhere, with descriptions of groups around the world fighting for prostitutes’ rights and end to sexual exploitation. Isis-Wicce, 3 chemin des Campanules, 1219 Aire, Geneva, Switzerland. Fax 022 796 0603.

“Asian Migrant Women Workers in Japan”, Asian Women’s Liberation, No. 8 (US$5). This is an English-language magazine published twice a year by Asian Women’s Association (see address above), which deals with the causes and exploitation of Asian women imported into Japan for the purpose of prostitution.