The Organizaton of American States (OAS) held its 41st General Assembly in El Salvador from June 5th to June 7th 2011 and Redtrasex through Orquídeas del Mar participated together with other civil organizations in order to put forward their claims before the Assembly.

The General Assembly is a hemispheric meeting held annually. The subject this year was “Citizenship Security for the Americas” and was proposed by the Salvadorian government before Permanent Council Members last December.
Several civil society organizations such as Orquídeas del Mar representing Redtrasex in El Salvador, provided awareness to their populations regarding the press conference held on June 6th in Plaza Italia. Each one prepared a speech on the increasing hate crimes affecting the region. Haydee Lainez, member of the national Sex Workers Organization, gave a brief reminder of ways in which the most fundamental rights of female sex workers are violated as well as the crimes and violence they are subjected throughout the region: “we are not willing to keep on arguing if it is a job or not. We want our rights as women and workers to be respected. It is the knowledge, not the indifference or negation that will lay the path to a more just and healthy society, where people will be able to access a full exercise of their rights”.