Where our members work

Politicians in Mexico City have voted to amend a Bill to decriminalise sex workers and their clients in the city. On 31st May, members of Congress voted to amend the wording of the Bill to remove a line allowing for prosecutions of sex workers and clients if neighbours make a complaint.

The platform of independent United Nations and regional expert mechanisms on violence against women and women’s rights* has released a statement calling on the International Labour Organization (ILO) to strongly address violence against women, including harassment as a form of gender-based violence, in a new human rights mechanism to be

Grace Kamau, the Regional Coordinator of the African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA), attended the 72nd session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva this week, contributing to a side event panel discussion on community-led healthcare responses.

MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights, The International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD), and the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) are proud to announce the formation of The Red Beacon Group - a new initiative for providing technical assistance for key populations aimed to reduce barriers to s

Sex workers in Belgium have launched a new campaign calling for the decriminalisation of sex work, and social and legal protection for sex workers. UTSOPI is calling on the Belgian government to create statutes to protect sex workers as self-employed workers, and repeal laws on soliciting advertising and third parties.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), a union representing nurses in the UK, has voted by "an overwhelming majority" to support lobbying for the decriminalisation of sex work at its annual conference this year.

Sex worker organisations and other human rights groups have condemned the arrest and violent mistreatment of women by police, who arrested more than 100 women at nightclubs in Abuja last week. It has been reported the women were arrested under sex work laws, although many of the women deny being sex workers.

The South African Government is considering a policy on decriminalisation of sex work, according to President Ramaphosa. The President told a number of organisations at an event last week that the government would: "finalize the outstanding legislation such as the prevention and combating [of] hate crime, the hate crime bill and victim support services. We will work with all stakeholders to develop policy around the decriminalization of sex work."

Sex worker-led organisations and National Ugly Mugs have raised concerns following news that Sacro has been awarded more than £1 million to develop an app for sex workers in Scotland.

Finnish websites used by sex workers to advertise and share information with each other have been closed down following a judicial warrant by Spanish police. The websites, Sihteeriopisto (Secretary College) and the international counterpart, sexworknet, were launched in Finland but was maintenance was moved overseas following changes to sex work laws in Finland in 2003. Spanish police issued the warrant on 26th March, since which point the websites have been unavailable. 

Amnesty International has released a new report highlighting the routine use of rape, violence and torture by police to punish women sex workers in the Dominican Republic.

Sex Workers Alliance Ireland has launched a new social media campaign to highlight the impact of laws criminalising the purchase of sexual services in the Republic of Ireland, which were introduced in 2017. The campaign highlights the increase in violence documented among sex workers since the introduction of the laws, and calls on the government to decriminalise sex work to ensure safety for sex workers. 

Members of the ILGA voted to support for the decriminalisation of sex work at their global conference last week. ILGA (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) is a world federation of national and local organisations dedicated to achieving equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people globally.

Sex workers attending the Commission on the Status of Women were concerned by comments made about sex work during the panel of a side event yesterday. The side event ‘Free to Decide, Free to Choose’ was sponsored by the French and Swedish governments, and discussed sexual and reproductive health and rights. Comments from the Swedish Women’s Lobby during the event suggested that no woman’s rights can be respected while sex workers exist.

Sex workers in Scotland and across the UK have formed groups in two unions – GMB and United Voices of the World – to advocate for improved working conditions and decriminalisation of sex work. Sex workers in Scotland launched a new adult entertainment branch of GMB in February, and United Voices of the World began working with strippers and other sex workers in 2018.