Resources

Zimbabwe Sex Workers Alliance (ZIMSWA) submitted this shadow report to the CEDAW committee in 2020 during the 75th CEDAW Session.

Contents include:

Misinformation on sex work has flourished for centuries, fuelled by age-old stereotypes, myths, and moral judgments which continue to shape policies and public opinions. Whether falsehoods are disseminated to deliberately deceive, or are shared unknowingly, the spread of inaccurate and misleading information on sex work has significant consequences.

The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) would like to take this opportunity to express its support for Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, who in July 2020 was appointed as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

O Guia Inteligente para profissionais do sexo: Políticas internacionais de afirmação dos direitos relacionados ao trabalho sexual é uma versão para a língua portuguesa do documento Smart Guide: Rights-Affirming International Policies Relating to Sex Work produzido pela NSWP.

NSWP has published a statement in response to the recent influx of consultations that seek to include sex worker voices from around the world. You can download the 2-page statement as a PDF above or read the text below. 

NSWP facilitated a delegation from member organisations to attend the 64th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The 64^th CSW session was cut from almost two weeks to one day following the outbreak of COVID-19, and was attended by government delegations only. This meant that all side and parallel events were cancelled and the expected robust discussions between community organisations and governments, and the essential input from civil society to hold governments accountable, was entirely absent.

This resource is a Community Guide to the Briefing Paper: Sex Workers’ Lack of Access to Justice. It provides an overview of the full Briefing Paper, and provides key recommendations for policy makers and service providers. 

You can download this 5-page Community Guide above. It is now available in English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese.

Sex workers around the world face a wide range of barriers to accessing justice, both as victims of crime and when charged with crimes. Since sex work is widely criminalised, most sex workers are denied access to the benefits and rights afforded to other workers under labour laws and face the risk of criminalisation, detention, deportation and legal sanction.

This manual was developed as a supplement to the Smart Sex Worker’s Guide: Rights-Affirming International Policies Relating to Sex Work. It includes recommendations for effective forms of follow-up advocacy that sex workers’ rights advocates can utilise after engaging with international and regional human rights mechanisms.

2020 is the 25 year anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA). This Briefing Note outlines the Beijing+25 review process, how sex workers have engaged in this process thus far, and the priorities for inclusion in Beijing+25 actions.

True progress towards gender equality, gender justice and fulfilment of women’s human rights must be inclusive of women in all their diversity, including sex workers. Sex workers face intersecting forms of criminalisation, discrimination and marginalisation, which cannot be addressed in isolation. 

In August 2019, a group of feminist activists from diverse regions and social movements gathered in Mexico City to strategise towards the 25th anniversary of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, which was held in China in 1995 and produced the Beijing Platform for Action.

In August 2019, a group of feminist activists from diverse regions and social movements gathered in Mexico City to strategise towards the 25th anniversary of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, which was held in China in 1995 and produced the Beijing Platform for Action.

The Know it, Prove it, Change it toolkit helps grassroots organisations in communities affected by HIV/AIDS to understand their basic rights, document rights abuses, and design and implement advocacy campaigns. T

Short report in English of the work of the UNAIDS Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work during 2010.

This is the Plain English version of the Note for Record of the June 2010 UNAIDS Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work.

This paper sets out the priorities of the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) developed for the period 2010-2012. It records the outcomes of the 2009 strategic planning process undertaken by the NSWP Board and is intended to inform both internal discussions and conversations with potential donors. This Strategic Plan will be adapted and developed into formal funding proposals for NSWP core activities.

Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) created this document as a way to provide context for the sex worker rights movement by sharing the life stories of sex workers with others, in their own words, allowing them to share their dreams and experiences with others to help them better understand sex workers, and to help other sex workers find the value and power in their own experiences. Chapters include stories of sex workers, a guide to risk management tips for sex workers to have safer work lives, and a sex workers pledge.

The Global Network of Sex Work Projects raises the voices of sex workers of all genders on issues that affect us. What these voices say about HIV is: SEX WORK IS WORK: Only rights can stop the wrongs. Unfavourable laws, stigma, violence, and discrimination cause sex workers’ vulnerability to ill health, social exclusion and human rights violations. Sex workers face these to varying degrees in all cultures from Switzerland to Swaziland, Canada to Cambodia. In this pamphlet, we define an understanding of HIV and sex work and outline our global agenda for change. We hope you will join and support us.