Where our members work

NSWP’s members are local, national and regional sex worker organisations and networks, across five regions: Africa; Asia and the Pacific; Europe (including Eastern Europe and Central Asia); Latin America and North America and the Caribbean. Members in each region elect two representatives to the NSWP Board of Directors.

All member organisations are required to endorse NSWP’s core values and the Consensus Statement on Sex Work, Human Rights, and the Law. Only sex worker-led organisations and networks have voting rights.

NSWP members are from diverse cultures and have different experiences and organisational histories. Most are independent sex worker-led organisations, some are informal groups of sex workers within larger organisations and some are non-governmental organisations who support sex workers rights. Some member organisations provide services, some focus on advocacy, some on mobilising to reduce vulnerability – all work on human rights issues that affect the health and well-being of sex workers.

You can find our members through the regional pages or by clicking on the red umbrellas on the map.

Note: For both safety and security NSWP does not identify which members are sex worker-led on our website, and members can choose not to be listed on the public website.

Regional updates

21st July 2020 | Region: Africa

AP News has published a report on the impact of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic on sex workers living with HIV. Speaking with sex workers and organisations from Rwanda and Zimbabwe, the article highlights the multiple ways that the current crisis is affecting those who do not have access to government support schemes.

20th July 2020 | Region: Global
HIV2020 Online Logo

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the HIV2020 Conference has been reimagined as a series of virtual convenings that will take place from June through October of this year. The programme will conclude with sharing learnings and highlights from the virtual event on World AIDS Day 2020 in December.

15th July 2020 | Region: North America and the Caribbean

In April 2020, NSWP launched a global survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers. The survey received 156 responses in total from 55 different countries out of which 53 responses were from 6 countries – Canada, Guyana, Mexico, Suriname, Trinidad, and the United States – in the North America and the Caribbean region.

“People are going hungry. People are scared to work, or not to work.” – PACE Society, Canada

14th July 2020 | Region: Europe

A new law criminalising clients has come into effect in Israel. The law, which was approved a year and a half ago by the Knesset, punishes those caught seeking the services of sex workers, as well as those apprehended in a location chiefly used for sex work.

14th July 2020 | Region: Asia and the Pacific

Sex workers in India are speaking out against a study by academics from Yale School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.

6th July 2020 | Region: Europe

In April 2020, NSWP launched a global survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers. The survey received, thus far, a total of 156 responses from 55 different countries out of which 43 responses were from 17 countries – Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, North Macedonia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom – in the Europe region.

2nd July 2020 | Region: Global

The organisers of HIV2020 Online, of which NSWP is a member, published a set of ten recommendations aimed at the International AIDS Society (IAS), which has been criticised for its decision to bring this year’s International AIDS Conference to the United States of America (U.S.). Though both conferences will now take place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates argue that the decision reflects weak community engagement.

1st July 2020 | Region: Latin America

OpenDemocracy has published an article from Graciela, a member of Ammar Cordoba, on their work supporting sex workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. AMMAR Córdoba​ is a sex worker-led organisation in Córdoba​, Argentina, fighting for human rights and access to labour protections.

19th June 2020 | Region: Global

HIV2020: Community Reclaiming the Global Response, is scheduled to take place on Zoom from July through October of 2020.

The HIV2020 alliance has decided to organise the community-led event to provide an alternative for individuals who cannot or will not participate in the AIDS2020 virtual conference. Its goal is to offer new opportunities to reaffirm the leading role communities play in the global HIV response. ​

18th June 2020 | Region: Asia and the Pacific

In April 2020, NSWP launched a global survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers. To date, the survey has received 156 responses from 55 different countries. 18 of these responses were from 11 countries – Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam – in the Asia-Pacific region. 

16th June 2020 | Region: Global

In May, Sex Work Donor Collaborative (SWDC) and Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) ran a global webinar to share sex workers’ experiences of COVID-19 and what funders can do to support the movement. View the webinar below or on the NSWP YouTube channel.

15th June 2020 | Region: Global

NSWP has launched an update to the legal mapping project, which maps sex work laws around the world. The information in the map reflects legislation (as of 31 March 2020) that affects sex workers through the criminalisation of the sale and purchase of sexual services, and the facilitation, management or organisation of sex work, as well as other laws used to regulate sex work such as mandatory health checks and travel restrictions.

15th June 2020 | Region: Global

A new analysis of the health outcomes of 12,987 people with COVID-19 in Western Cape, South Africa, indicates that people living with HIV and people with past or current tuberculosis infections have a two- to three-times greater risk of dying of COVID-19.

4th June 2020 | Region: Latin America

Juana R. Torres, president and founder of Mujeres Independientes Luchando por sus Derechos (Independent Women Fighting for their Rights), passed away in May after a stay in Santo Tomás hospital. Juana, who was also known as Dulce Ana, was a Honduran national living in Panama. There she campaigned for the recognition of sex work as work, saying “we’re always fighting for our work to be recognised, just like any other form of employment in the country.”

3rd June 2020 | Region: Global

Sex worker groups around the world held events and actions to mark International Sex Workers’ Day on 2nd June.