Marginalised and invisible communities cross all socio-economic, racial, religious, lifestyle, and cultural groups, yet many are excluded and face disparities in health care, employment, legal rights under the law, housing, and access to services. They are often the silent and invisible victims of discrimination, violence, social stigma, and assault.

This session will centre conversations on the issues and challenges faced by sex workers, homeless transgender people, and migrant and domestic workers in Singapore. We hope to raise awareness and build a community around these important issues. This invitation is open. If you care about these issues and would like to listen, participate and/or take action, whether you have experience or not, whether your role currently permits you or not, you are welcome.

Panelists/Guests :

• Yulia Endang, experience of an FDW
• Jaya Anil Kumar, HOME for migrant rights
• Vanessa Ho, Project X for sex worker rights
• June Chua, T Project for homeless transgender

Bios :

Yulia Endang

Yulia Endang, from Ciamis, West Java, has been working in Singapore for 14 years. In addition to writing poetry she enjoys photography. Yulia was awarded second place in Singapore’s 2019 Migrant Worker Poetry Competition and third place in the 2018 competition.

Jaya Anil Kumar

Jaya Anil Kumar is a Case Manager at the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME), an NGO in Singapore that provides services for thousands of migrant workers in need, including shelter, legal assistance and training programmes. At HOME, Jaya oversees the casework relating to migrant domestic workers, and provides them advice and guidance on their rights.

Vanessa Ho

Vanessa Ho is the Executive Director of Project X, an organization in that provides social, legal, and emotional support for sex workers in Singapore. This is a full time position that she has held since 2011, and one that has provided her many opportunities to meet and connect with sex workers in Singapore and around the world. She has written and spoken about sex work, human trafficking, rape culture, and LGBTQ rights in Singapore. Vanessa holds the view that if people can speak about sex, gender and sexuality in open and in non-judgmental ways, society will become a safer place for everyone.

June Chua

June Chua founded The T Project together with her late sister Alicia in 2014, to meet the needs of the transgender community in Singapore. The T Project supports the Singapore's transgender community by providing a holistic social service, including a temporary shelter for the homeless. In 2018, June founded the Alicia Community Centre, Singapore’s first drop-in centre for transgender people. The Alicia Community Centre complements The T Project’s work, focusing on providing transgender youth access to social support, trans-focused information and resources.