Resources

NSWP members SANGRAM and VAMP, along with CASAM and women’s rights organisation MASUM submitted this shadow report on the status of sex workers in India to the 58th CEDAW Committee in July 2014. The report highlights the violence and rights violations experienced by sex workers and includes testimonies from sex workers across India.

In 2015, NSWP member Silver Rose submitted this shadow report to the CEDAW committee review of the Russian Federation.  The shadow report is based on information collected by Silver Rose during their day-to-day work with sex workers in St. Petersburg, Silver Rose documentation of human rights abuses, and analysis of media representations across Russia.

NSWP members, including TAMPEP, SOA Aids Nederland and PROUD, contributed to this shadow report by Dutch NGOs and CSOs submitted to the 65th CEDAW session. This shadow report documents a wide range human rights violations affecting women in the Netherlands, including transgender sex workers.

The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform and Pivot Legal submitted this shadow report to the 65th CEDAW session. This shadow report documents the human rights violations affecting Canadian sex workers since the passage of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, which criminalises sex workers, clients, third parties, advertising websites, and made modifications to migration regulations. 

The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) submitted this shadow report to to the 66th CEDAW Session on Ireland. The report focuses on the harms of The Sexual Offences Bill, passed at the beginning of 2017, which criminalises the purchase of sexual services and increase the penalties for indoor sex workers. NSWP has previously reported on this bill and SWAI’s organizing efforts against the bill.

NSWP Member Legalife-Ukraine, in collaboration with civil society organisations representing women drug users, LGBT communities, and women living with HIV in Ukraine, submitted this shadow report to to the 66th CEDAW Session. The shadow report documents discrimination against these communities by police, medical, and social service institutions. It also documents legal discrimination.

Sex Worker Forum-AT has submitted this shadow report to the Committee to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) sixty-sixth session on Germany. The shadow report specifically addresses how Germany’s new sex work legislation, known as the “Prostituiertenschutzgesetz” will hurt sex workers from a gender equality perspective. Germany’s new federal law will come into effect 1 July 2017. It has been criticised by NSWP member Hydra, including in their article in Research for Sex Work 14.

The Kenyan Network of Sex Workers, including KESWA and the Bar Hostess Empowerment & Support Programme, has submitted this document to the CEDAW Working Group which will review Kenya in November 2017.

The Sex Workers Network (SWN), Bangladesh & Sex Workers and Allies in South Asia (SWASA), Bangladesh Chapter submitted this shadow report to to the 65th CEDAW Session, which took place in November 2016.

The Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), along with the Red Umbrella Programme, a network of 19 South Africa sex worker programmes and 560 peer educators supported by SWEAT, has developed this guide on best practices to comprehensive sex work programming. The guide provides an overview of meaningful sex worker involvement and strategies of moving from programmes “for” to programmes “with” and “by” sex workers.

This is the 18th issue of NSWP's quarterly newsletter ‘Sex Work Digest’, covering the period from February - April 2017. 

This resource is a Community Guide to the The Decriminalisation of Third Parties policy brief. It focuses on the human rights violations that occur when third parties are criminalised, and why NSWP and its members advocate for the decriminalisation of third parties.

Sex workers and their allies face significant obstacles in the fight to improve the health and wellbeing of sex workers globally. In the Smart Sex Worker’s Guide: Addressing the Failure of Anti-Sex Work Organisations, NSWP explore the effects of anti-sex work programming and anti-trafficking initiatives that deny sex workers their human rights. The Smart Guide explores organisations whose work puts sex workers at risk, directly or indirectly, and provides key strategies from NSWP members on how to combat these approaches.

The NSWP Global Fund Quarterly Update includes information about the most recent topics being discussed and addressed within the Global Fund. In 2017, there will be a total of 4 updates.

The Smart Service Provider’s Guide to ICT and Sex Work is a resource for service providers who want to better understand how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have impacted sex workers and the prevention of HIV. This guide identifies good and bad practice for development and implementing ICT outreach services, based on consultation with sex workers and NSWP member organisations.

The Community, Rights, and Gender (CRG) Department of the Global Fund Secretariat has published this document which shares findings and recommendations for increasing the meaningful engagement of communities in all phases of Global Fund grants. The review summarises lessons learned and good practices for how communities engage meaningfully, and identifies key principles and strategic actions the Global Fund can take to ensure greater accountability between communities, Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs), other key stakeholders, and the Global Fund itself.

The Sex Workers' Rights Advocacy Network (SWAN), within the Regional Platform EECA, has developed a video and community guide on the community’s engagement in Global Fund supported processes on the national level. This resource and video provides a general overview of The Global Fund's structure, and key examples from within the region about how sex worker-led organisations have engaged with The Global Fund. 

The Annual Report highlights the activities and achievements of NSWP in 2015. These activities include capacity building, providing technical support to regional networks and the development of advocacy tools that bring the human rights of sex workers into focus.

This is the 17th issue of NSWP's quarterly newsletter ‘Sex Work Digest’, covering the period from November 2016 - January 2017.