TAMPEP

Last updated

TAMPEP
Formation1993;31 years ago (1993)
TypeNGO
Legal status foundation
Purposehealth and human rights of migrant sex workers
HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
Region served
Europe
General Coordinator
Licia Brussa [1]
Website www.tampep.eu OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

TAMPEP (European Network for the Promotion of Rights and Health among Migrant Sex Workers) is an international organisation that supports the health and human rights of migrant sex workers in Europe. [2]

Contents

History

Old TAMPEP logo used around 2004 TAMPEP old logo.png
Old TAMPEP logo used around 2004

Founded in 1993, [3] with headquarters in Amsterdam, the organisation initially operated in Italy, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. [4] As of November 2019, it coordinates a network of 30 organisations, [5] in 25 countries of Europe, [6] and receives funding from the European Commission, [4] [7] :151 as well as from national governments, [7] :151 and was said to reach persons from over 80 different nationalities, as of January 2018. [6] As of November 2019, TAMPEP is hosted by Pro-tukipiste, a service provider organisation based in Helsinki, Finland. [5]

TAMPEP originally stood for "Transnational AIDS/STD prevention amongst Migrant Prostitutes in Europe Project"; "STD" was later changed to "STI". [3] The organisation has changed its self-description several times over the years: By 2004, it presented itself as the "European Network for Transnational AIDS/STD Prevention among Migrant Prostitutes"; [3] as of 2019, it calls itself the "European Network for HIV/STI Prevention and Health Promotion among Migrant Sex Workers". [5]

TAMPEP states that in 2017, it was re-structured into a "migrant sex worker-led network that unites sex worker groups and allies in the fields of sex work, migration, and health. The purpose of the network is to build stronger partnerships, and to advocate for the rights and health of migrant and mobile sex workers at the European level". [8]

Activities

The main concern of the project is HIV/AIDS prevention; it approaches the problem from a general health and human rights approach, working for empowerment and self-determination of female and transsexual migrant sex workers, and for improvements in their working conditions and social situation. [2] [9] The member organisations employ street work, peer educators, and informational materials to contact migrant sex workers. [10] The organisation produces regular reports about the situation of sex workers in Europe.

TAMPEP's literature emphasises the need to cleanly distinguish between the issues of trafficking, sex work, and migration. TAMPEP opposes trafficking as a human rights abuse, but supports efforts to improve working conditions of sex workers and to facilitate migration. [1]

TAMPEP has also operated in Nigeria, where it helps to rehabilitate sex workers deported from Italy. [11]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 TAMPEP Position Paper on Migration and Sex Work (2002), retrieved 4 October 2009
  2. 1 2 Margaret Ducket, Migrants' Right to Health, UNAIDS Best Practice Collection, March 2001
  3. 1 2 3 Licia Brussa, ed. (August 2004). "TAMPEP 6 report" (PDF). TAMPEP. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. 1 2 "TAMPEP International Foundation". European Commission. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "Members and Allies". TAMPEP website. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. 1 2 DG SANTE (19 January 2018). "TAMPEP - European Network for HIV/STI Prevention and Health Promotion among Migrant Sex Workers". Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography (KCMD) Information Catalogue. European Commission. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  7. 1 2 Gudrun Alyce Willett (2007). "Crises of self and other: Russian-speaking migrants in the Netherlands and European Union". Iowa Research Online. University of Iowa. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2021. Both organizations [De Rode Draad and TAMPEP] were financially supported by the Dutch government, but TAMPEP also received European Union funding, as it was part of an alliance of sex-work health organizations in Europe (EUROPAP).
  8. Steering Committee (9 January 2019). "TAMPEP is looking for a new coordinator". tampep.eu. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  9. Brussa L, Migrant Sex workers in Europe: the experience of TAMPEP, 15th International Conference on AIDS, Bangkok Thailand 2004
  10. TAMPEP General Presentation, retrieved 4 October 2009
  11. Sengupta, Somini (5 November 2004). "Oldest Profession Is Still One of the Oldest Lures for Young Nigerian Women". The New York Times.