Content_DV_XIV

Overview

0:00-2:54	03.03.2003	“Festival with no pleasure. Liberty, Egality, Sexuality”. Congress of sex workers in Trivandrum, Kerala
0:00-0:23		Inside: Dancing and singing on stage
0:23-0:33		Outside at night
0:33-1:56	04.03.03	Outside: Discussion: “Violence, sex work and the law”
1:56-1:58		Outside conference hall
1:58-2:19		Inside: Dancing on stage (Erotic Dance & Folkloristic Dancing)
2:20-2:54		Outside: Panel discussion: “AIDSs & Aid”

Time	Content	Inter-facing
0:00-0:23	03.03.03 Inside on stage: Dancing and singing on stage	sex workers’ body language
0:23-0:33	Outside, in front of the hall at night: people, information posters in Malayalam on the discrimination of sex workers picture, close: bank with two transsexuals from Maharashtra
	next day 04.03.03
0:33-0:42	Outside, daytime, picture: quiet street or yard, then in the conference premises women, and hijras, transsexuals, walking, talking -> waiting
0:42:27	start of panel discussion : “Violence, sex work and the law”, participants of panel discussion	„Violence, sex work and the law“
0:44	opening and introduction in Malayalam and English, aim of event: does the law help sex-workers, or repress them?	Law – support of oppressive instrument?
0:49-1:56	several sex-workers from across India and Bangladesh talk about their experiences of violence (translated into English)	sex workers’ experiences: violence
0:49	Female president of one prostitutes’union in Calcutta: - ghettoized, - police and local gooudas (hired criminals) are most violent - a woman is beaten up brutally, the president organised protest of 500 women, demand and get apology of local goondas, but then at night her house is attacked by 80-90 people, and she is beaten by the police	police violence goondas violence
0:55-1:05	- „it is not only the police and the goondas, it´s the society” -> former prostitutes have bad reputation, demand of unity of sex-workers in the battle for their rights, „two main needs: hunger and sex“ -> at age 18 one can do whatever one wants to	unity of sex workers
	organization of sex-workers is at the same time a trap and the only chance	sex workers: pitfalls of unionisation
1:05-1:25	Another woman sex worker: - abusive language of police, only few women are brave enough to counter the police	police atrocities
	- picture: woman whose hand was broken by police; expensive treatments, women have high costs for hospital etc -> ruined, complaints also at the minister’s don’t help	police and political corruption
1:16	sex-worker run over by car, police does not help - „against the goondas on the street“, goondas take money, give no protection, picture: speaker close, very envolved and accusatory	goondas mafia structures
1:25-1:27	woman with broken hand: after complaint about policeman repression has become much worse picture: counter-shot of camera	police violence
1:27-1:37	Another sex-worker: about problems with police and experiences in battle against violence (picture: filming woman) - „Hitting on the hips“ „putting chili powder on the vagina”, “selling ourselves is not a crime”; fighting against violence should be done by all the sex-workers, “Lady police-worker in uniform”	police violence and women’s counter strategies
1:37-1:42	Hama from Bangladesh: many prostitutes killed by police, dead bodies disappeared; union of prostitutes, 2000 members, try to give protection against violence; slogan: “We are not untouchables because we are sex-workers“	police atrocities (also Bangladesh) “We are not untouchables because we are sex workers”[!?]
1:44	Surah: punches in police custody: „For access for a better life outside sexwork ...need support and help”	sex workers’ demands: better life
1:48	Another woman: “They asked me to work there, but I was abused”, beaten up, ruined health	violence suffered
1:51	Yyoti: “The problems are all domestic … many women beaten by her husband … we are not alone”	domestic violence
1:53	Sadhuti: “why doesn´t the mainstream society respect us?”	respect by mainstream?
1:55-1:56	Another woman: defended herself, verbally: “you are a dog” “… you not help us, when we are hungry”
1:56	Outside the conference hall, entering it with the camera, entertainment programme on stage Inside: music and songs
1:58-2:03	Madhuri (transsexual) dances in erotic way to Bollywood music	erotic body language
2:04-2:06	Indian musicians
2:06-2:19	traditionial music and folk dance of several dance groups	Rajasthan folk dances
	Afternoon
2:20	Panel discussion: “AIDS & Aid”	“AIDS and aid”
2:20	Social worker (female): works with sex-workers, who are the true “main spreaders!?” They do awareness programs to stop spreading of Aids - in her working area also lots of police violence, e.g. Shanti killed	police violence
2:25-2:29	other social worker or sex-worker: - project: self-help group of sex-workers, pursued, maltreated and imprisoned by police, police disturbs her work massively, picture: audience, 3000 rupies bribe for the police, otherwise arrest	self help of sex workers
2:30	- A social worker with sex-workers: problem: women denied existence of sex-work-> no help or enlightenment possible, night shelter for women and their children , call against discrimination	social work with sex workers against discrimination
2:33-2:40	man from project (since 1992): violence major problem, especially from money lenders, -> sex-workers become bound labourers, diverse exploitation structures, project: strenghten self-respect of sex-workers -> use condoms, help structures against spreading of Aids, mutual support of sex-workers against violence, cooperative bank for sex-workers founded to by-pass exploitative money-lenders	violence by money lenders self help of sex workers
2:40	Another woman: - Drop-in centre do also political work-> empowerment necessary-> 1. Sex-workers conference 1999 - problem: organisations have lost control about funds, Anti-trafficking project , „we cannot provide this, because lack of political will“ -> politics is the problem, prevents effective help structures despite of long successful work, sex-workers’ own organizations are successful at Aids prevention, fight for respect and acknowledgement, „we are a marginalised group“, „government has stopped all supporting for us“	sex workers’ empowerment no political will sex workers “marginalised”
2:50-2:54(End)	- man: summarises development of working with sex-workers in Kerala: sex-workers’ work in Kerala did not start with Anti-Aids campaigns but with Human Rights aspect, today no support left by government and aligned organisations	sex workers in Kerala: fighting for human rights

>> refers to texts on this indexed topic under “Kerala Womens’ Cinema&Self Praxis”