View source for Les amis du bus des femmes

{{Short description|French sex worker association}}
[[Image:Bus des femmes.gif|thumb|right]]
'''Les amis du bus des femmes''' is a French association established in 1990 by former [[sex workers]] as a support group for sex workers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Deschamps|first=Catherine|title=Femmes publiques: Les féminismes à l'épreuve de la prostitution|year=2009|publisher=Amsterdam|location=Paris|isbn=978-2-915547-08-5|page=92|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VpUnAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Les+amis+du+bus+des+femmes%22|author2=Souryis, Anne }}</ref>
The original initiative stemmed from a need to educate sex workers on [[AIDS]].<ref name="Égré" /> It quickly became established as a bridging organisation between sex workers on the street and the provision of medical, social and administrative services. Its [[Paris]] headquarters is open daily to the population it serves. In addition it has eight permanent mobile units ([[buses]]) operating day and night in the areas frequented by sex workers in the capital, staffed by organisational and health professionals.<ref name="Égré">{{cite web |last1=Égré |first1=Pascale |title=Confidences dans le Bus des femmes |url=http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/confidences-dans-le-bus-des-femmes-15-05-2000-2001375118.php |accessdate=12 August 2018 |language=fr |date=May 15, 2000}}</ref>
The principal mission of the association, whose administration consists of both sex workers and non-sex workers, is to work with and for sex workers to prevent [[HIV]], [[hepatitis]] and [[sexually transmitted diseases]]. They distribute condoms and encourage sex workers to visit the office to get help with administrative, medical, and social needs, and conducts job searches for those who decide to transition out of sex work. Emphasis is placed on helping workers access their health, social and human rights. The objective is to enable workers to develop an environment that supports an active role for them in stating their needs and demands. In working with and for sex workers, the association fights against [[discrimination]], [[social exclusion]] and [[human trafficking]].<ref name="Égré" /><ref name="florian" />
The association opposes abolitionism and its objective to eradicate sex work, and recognizes that some women have freely chosen to engage in sex work and that that choice must be respected. The association deals with both voluntary and involuntary sex workers, such as those trafficked from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.<ref name="florian" />
Currently the association has fourteen employees including doctors and nurses, facilitators and an employment counsellor. It is funded from government grants which are allocated by agencies such as [[Direction départementale des Affaires sanitaires et sociales|DDASS]] Paris (Direction départementale des Affaires sanitaires et sociales), the Paris [[conseil général]], the CPAM de Paris (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie) and the [[Conseil régional]].<ref name="florian">{{cite web |title=Les Amis du bus des femmes |url=http://florian-cabirol.com/bus-des-femmes/qui-sommes-nous/ |website=florian-cabirol.com |accessdate=12 August 2018}}</ref> The project also receives funding from the [[European Commission]]'s Daphne Funding Programme.<ref>{{cite web |title=Daphne Toolkit |url=https://ec.europa.eu/justice/grants/results/daphne-toolkit/en/content/la-pr%C3%A9vention-des-violences-faites-aux-femmes-travaillant-dans-le-milieu-de-la-prostitution |publisher=European Commission |accessdate=12 August 2018}}</ref>
The association has been politically active, for instance opposing the [[Sarkozy]] laws on solicitation. Claude Boucher appeared for them before the senate hearings.<ref name="allwood08">{{cite book |last1=Giusta |first1=Ms Marina Della |last2=Munro |first2=Professor Vanessa E. |title=Demanding Sex: Critical Reflections on the Regulation of Prostitution |date=2013 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=9781409496175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fwkLWu6sq-UC&pg=PA67 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="allwood06">{{cite book |last1=Geetanjali |first1=Gangoli |last2=Nicole |first2=Westmarland |title=International Approaches to Prostitution: Law and Policy in Europe and Asia |date=2006 |publisher=Policy Press |isbn=9781861346728 |page=45 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rxQKtfQJFr0C&pg=PA45 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=boucher151002>{{cite web|url=http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/12/cr-delf/02-03/c0203002.asp|title=Délégation Aux Droits Des Femmes Et À L'égalité Des Chances Entre Les Hommes Et Les Femmes, Compte Rendu N° 2|author=|date=15 October 2002|work=Assemblée Nationale|accessdate=12 August 2018}}</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Prostitution in France]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.lesamisdubusdesfemmes.com/ Website of ''l'association Les Amis du bus des femmes'']
{{Feminism}}
{{Discrimination}}
{{Prostitution in France}}
[[Category:Women's rights organizations]]
[[Category:Human rights organizations based in France]]
[[Category:Sex worker organizations]]
[[Category:Feminism in France]]
[[Category:Prostitution in France]]