Where our members work

Many Latin American countries hold a Pride parade, an annual celebration that takes place all over the world in June and July to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex culture and pride. In most of them, the sex workers participate as part of the community, and Colombia is no different.  

Women’s and sex workers’ rights activists are protesting in Uganda following increasing numbers of violent attacks on women, including women sex workers. Groups report that kidnapping of women for ransom and murder have become increasingly common crimes in Uganda, and that there has not been sufficient investigation or justice for victims and their families.

NSWP joins sex worker-led organisations in the UK to condemn attempts to introduce FOSTA-style laws criminalising online platforms used by sex workers.

On 28th June, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Human Rights Watch, The Internet Archive, and two individuals have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of FOSTA (Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, 2017).

El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, but also the most densely populated. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and is also considered an epicentre of a gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras, which it borders. Every day between 200 and 300 people are forced to migrate from El Salvador. Some do it to improve their economic situation, but many others are forced to leave under threat of death.

Sex worker organisations have been negatively impacted since FOSTA-SESTA was passed in April, with Desiree Alliance announcing it has cancelled its 2019 conference in light of the risks the law has created for sex workers. The statement on their website reads:

Sex workers in Spain have protested the acquittal of three men accused of raping a sex worker. 24 hours after being arrested, the three men accused of rape had been released under the restraining order. The men denied the rape “because the woman is a prostitute”. 

NSWP congratulates Julie Bates on being awarded the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

NSWP congratulates Catherine Healy from New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective (NZPC) on being made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the rights of sex workers.

ICRSE and SWAN recently hosted training on community mobilisation and activism for the first time in Poland and Albania. The training took place over two days and was then followed by a roundtable with several NGOs.

The 17th Sex Worker Academy Africa (SWAA) has begun in Nairobi with 16 participants from three countries taking part.

New Zealand must repeal its ban on migrant sex workers to ensure the benefits of its decriminalisation model are extended to all sex workers, says NSWP member organisation the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective. 

Last weekend in Halifax at their biannual national convention, the Liberal Party voted yes to a resolution for consensual sex work decriminalisation. The resolution was presented by the party’s youth caucus, the Young Liberals of Canada, and is part of several resolutions that push for a more progressive Liberal Party. The Liberal Party are currently the largest party in Canadian government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Trudeau.

On Friday 20th April, 3 members of NSWP member Avenir Jeune de l'Ouest (AJO) were arrested at their offices in Dschang, Cameroon, following a raid by police. A further two members were arrested on Saturday 21st April, and have since been held at Dschang Central Police station. AJO reported that the members were not given reason for their detention and suffered violence and aggression at the hands of the police. 

Earlier this week, the Economist published an article on the status of sex workers in Senegal, which has a ‘legalised’ model. It states that: “Senegal is the only place in Africa where sex workers are regulated by the state.”