The article that infuriated the authorities in the Kazakh Taldikorgan region was published in the newspaper Liter. Ending with an obscene joke that makes rude fun of sex workers, the article infuriated many readers who left comments in the discussion column, on the paper’s website. The article in Russian Sex Workers’ Rally, Sir as well as readers’ comments are available here.

Read same article on SWAN website.

SWAN campaign held on December 17, the International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers, triggered an action by the Kazakh authorities against SWAN member from this Central Asian country. More

This article was prepared by a Kazakh news reporter after the SWAN’s 2nd Annual meeting in Kiev. It aimed at informing the readers in Kazakhstan about human rights issues in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Central Europe and about the network of organizations advocating for human rights of sex workers in this region.

The article was prepared in collaboration with NGO Kovcheg, SWAN member from Kazakhstan. Although offered to all of them, the article was not published by any of the national newspapers for reasons unknown to SWAN team. More

Almaty, 29 August 2007 -- Prostitution occupies a legal gray area in Kazakhstan. It’s not illegal, but running a brothel or forcing someone into prostitution is. The police, reflecting their own culture’s disapproval of the trade, shrug off abuse of prostitutes, and sometimes join in. Working alone then, without a protector – usually a pimp – puts the women at great risk. More

Almaty, 7 June, 2007 – The Head of Almaty Traffic Police, Bakytkeldy Aihimbekov, stated that city law enforcement managed to liquidate meting spots of “Love Priestesses” on Sain and Seifullin street. More

For the first time ever in Kazakhstan two persons were brought to court by two women who claim the defendants confined and rented them out on hourly bases. Summoned are a former security employee of a private agency and a teenager with four-year education. These two men demanded $ 500 from a prostitute who managed to escape. This was meant to be as a payoff for her rejecting to work for them any more. Berik Rahimzhanov and S.D. threatened to hijack Ana’s child and kill her if she does not give them the money. More

Eugeniy Zhovtis, Director of Kazakhstan’s International Bureau for Human Rights and Justice:

- With the bad attitudes that our society has against prostitutes, I do not think the girls wanted publicity. I tend to think that sex workers turned to court only because the situation became critical. Basically nobody can provide them protection from pimps. The relationship between a pimp and a person providing sex service can be observed from two angles. If the girl’s position is close to that of slavery, then the pimp is responsible for criminal act. But if the prostitute-pimp relationship is connected to work, then, want it or not, we should deal with payment for such labor. As prostitution in Kazakhstan is not legalized, there is no legal base for sex workers to file complaints on the ground of work relationship. More