It's a case of serendipity for Jessie; sex work is illegal in India. However, after many years of fighting stigma and discrimination, communities in India now consider sex work to be an occupation, but there is still a long way to go to reach decriminalisation.

Sex workers take pride in being safe sex experts. This film celebrates sex workers' strength and achievements through interviews, dance, peer education and rallies. “While working alongside each other under state persecution, we've still managed to minimise the spread of HIV/AIDS through peer education. Instead of focusing on the negatives, let’s highlight the positives-and learn from it!”, says Jessie.

This unfunded project is fuelled by passion and a desire to educate the world on how safe-sex educated workers make informed choices. "It's important for everyone, all around the world, to have fair and equal access to condoms, lube and education", says Jessie.

This film is relevant to universities, sexual health clinics, sex work organisations and anyone interested in supporting the rights of sex workers and their children. It aims to inspire and educate!

Open letter to individuals and organisations that would benefit from viewing this documentary:

To whom it may concern,

I'm writing to advise your organisation of Comparing Countries’ Compassion—to sex workers, an Australian-made documentary that is a vital learning tool for your employees and target groups. It emphasises the importance of peers in community-based organisations and in developing appropriately targeted education and campaign materials and consultation processes in order to advance human rights.

This documentary is a valuable educational tool aimed at the whole community, including organisations that interact with or provide health, medical or community services to the GLBT communities, minority groups and sex workers.

Comparing Countries’ Compassion—to sex workers is a film that celebrates sex workers’ strength and achievements through interview, dance and peer education.

Independently funded, this sex worker-made documentary stars "Minority activist Jessie Abraham" and has recently been purchased by many organisations, including Family Planning NT, the Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council, Respect Inc. QLD and Scarlet Alliance, the national sex workers’ association.

This documentary has been screened internationally in America, India and many states here in Australia.

By supporting this local Australian film producer, you will be assisting "Jessie" and her producer Seranna to attend the World A.I.D.S Conference in July 2010 so that they can continue to film the next series as well as present a paper and the documentary to audiences in Europe.

Yours sincerely,
Jessie Abraham.

Feedback about the Comparing Countries Compassion dvd
from Elena Jeffreys, President of Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association

This is a wonderful film, capturing the strength of peer education, sex worker rights and more.

Every HIV activist and AIDS council in the world should watch this!

Jessie travels to a sex worker conference in Dubar, India, and shares Australian style peer education with the sex workers and supporters there. Also travelling to a rally for the Rights Of Children of Sex Workers, Jessie shares in some uniquely Indian activism. This kind of rally for Children of sex workers has never happened in Australia. Empowering, beautiful, strong, great footage, the dancing and singing at the rally will give you goose bumps.

In an interview with an Indian based sexual minority activist, Laxmi, we learn that Indian sex workers are fighting for the same demands as sex workers everywhere – decriminalisation of our work, the right to work with dignity, community empowerment and peer education and community ownership of HIV prevention projects – these issues are the central pillars of sex worker demands.

This is Jessie’s first foray into film and we wish her all the success she deserves. Promoting sex worker rights, sex worker voices and sex workers’ lives, and generously sharing with the public at large, Jessie is an up and coming power house of activism and one to watch. We congratulate Jessie for increasing the visibility of sex worker issues.

Like many of us Jessie is actively learning valuable lessons on how sex work issues are interpreted or analysed outside of sex work communities – and you can join her on this journey by viewing her first ever film and supporting her work.

Peers rock: Quirky, interesting and worthy, all at the same time, by Lucy Blissbomb

Comparing Countries’ Compassion is a film produced by our very own, talented sex worker activist Jessie Abraham, some-time comedian/peer educator-turned-documentary-producer and sex worker for over a decade. It’s a film that busts the myths surrounding sex work and highlights the power of peer education in combating HIV/AIDS by disseminating the message that sex work is real work, a human rights issue, and that the children of sex workers need fair and equitable access to education.

Jessie quickly demonstrates that sex and sex work are culturally defined, examining the differences between the services provided by female sex workers in Indian brothels with those of female sex workers in Australian brothels. And in examining the statistics of HIV-positive sex workers in India, finds that they are on par with those of Australian sex workers. Her message is clear: peer health education and peer-based organisations are best practice.

Jessie narrates in the first person, and in doing so presents her multi-faceted talents, sense of humour and quirky nature, all of which added greatly to my enjoyment of the film. Her use of varying presentation styles, such as those of a ‘reporter’, an educator and a peer health educator who performs new sex worker training, Australian-style, at an international sex worker conference for sex workers and supporters in front of thousands of Indian sex workers, also create interest and work to highlight and reinforce important messages such as the power of peer-based organisations and education regardless of culture and laws.

In this film, Jessie compares laws, peer education, education, culture and condom accessibility to determine how these factors affect sex workers and the general community on a day-to-day level by interviewing a variety of Indian sex workers, including women working in brothels, a high-class model-turned-call girl and male-to-male sex workers, as well as activists, people working in chemist shops and doctors.

One of the highlights of the film—apart from evidence of Jessie’s quirky nature, yet sensitive and astute personality—is footage of International Sex Workers’ Day as celebrated in Calcutta. This celebration is attended by sex workers, politicians and religious leaders, demonstrating that although stigma is very real for Indian sex workers, that like Australian sex workers, they take pride in being safe sex experts and being part of the sex worker community.

This film is relevant to sex work organisations, universities, sexual health clinics and anyone interested in supporting the rights of sex workers and their children. It draws interesting parallels with Australian sex workers and points out that as in Australia, the media in India has failed to protect the rights of the sex workers that it purports to support.

This film says as much about Jessie, and her values, as it does about sex workers in India. I found that the more times I watched it, the more I learned. Like Jessie herself, it’s multi-faceted, non-preachy, quirky, informative and engaging. I strongly urge you as a peer to get behind this film. Buy it, watch it, promote it, and get behind yet another of our amazing multi-talented sex worker activists.

Comparing Countries Compassion - The base Questionnaire for all. [read]