Resources

The research project Sex Work and Mental Health: Access to Mental Health Services for People Who Sell Sex (SWMH) in Germany, Italy, Sweden and UK ran between March 2016 and December 2018.

The HIV Policy Lab – an online platform that gathers and monitors laws and policies adopted by countries around the world, documenting where key HIV science has been translated into policy –has developed a set of analyses to support advocacy around the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS 2021 and 10-10-10 targets.

This open access book provides a comprehensive overview of the health inequities and human rights issues faced by sex workers globally across diverse contexts, and outlines evidence-based strategies and best practices.

This research from the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women aimed to explore gender-based violence in the world of work from the perspective of women migrant workers.

This systematic review and meta-analysis, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), has found that sex workers who have experienced 'regressive policing' (including arrest, extortion and violence from police), are three times more likely to experience sexual or physical violence. The study examines the impacts of criminalisation on sex workers’ safety, health, and access to services, using data from 33 countries. Sex workers' health and safety was found to be at risk not only in countries where sex work was criminalised, but also in Canada, which has introduced the “Nordic model”, where purchasing sex is specifically criminalised.

This resource was developed by PROUD, the Dutch union for and by sex workers, and Aidsfonds - Soa Aids Nederland, to explore the extent to which sex workers in the Netherlands experience stigma and violence. A total of 308 sex workers participated through questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions from across the country, engaged in various types of sex work.

Yale Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP) has released two complementary analyses on prostitution “diversion” programs (PDPs) in the USA: Diversion from Justice: 'A Rights-Based Analysis of Local ‘Prostitution Diversion Programs’ and their Impacts on People in the Sex Sector in the United States'; and 'Un-Meetable Promises: Rhetoric and Reality in New York City’s Human Trafficking Intervention Courts'. One is national in scope and the other focused specifically on New York City programming.

MSMGF, NSWP, INPUD, GATE, IRTG, GNP+ and ICW published this resource which concludes with a call to action for renewed commitment to HIV primary prevention strategies that are proactive, address upstream factors, and re-center communities most impacted by HIV. The resource and call to action pushes for HIV and other sexual health services that are led by or done with the community.

This report and executive summary by the Global Commission on HIV and Law, supported by UNDP, examines the role of law in effective HIV responses. The report is based on expert submissions, research on HIV, health and law, and testimony of 700 people most affected by HIV-related laws from 140 countries.

The Global Fund has published this technical brief on guiding principles and best practices for HIV programming addressing sex workers and other key populations. The brief is based on 4 implementation tools for key populations, with the Sex Worker Implementation Tool (SWIT) offering normative guidance for programming aimed at sex workers.

The Women's Refugee Commission has published this guidance note for humanitarian on Working with Refugees Engaged in Sex Work. This guidance notes adopts a rights-based approach to ensuring the fulfillment and protection of refugees engaged in sex work. The guidance note offers 14 practical steps for field staff. It also provides examples of good practices and programme activities for refugees engaged in sex work. 

Asia Catalyst has published their report The Condom Quandary: A Study of the Impact of Law Enforcement Practices on Effective HIV Prevention among Male, Female, and Transgender Sex Workers in China. Asia Catalyst conducted 74 in-depth interviews with male, female, and transgender sex workers, 18 interviews with key informants, and 517 responses to a survey questionnaire. The research was conducted in three major Chinese cities. The report found that using condoms as evidence of sex work violates the human rights of sex workers.

REAL: Resources, Education, Advocacy for Local Sex Work (formerly STREET) in collaboration with Dr. Stacey Hannem have published a report entitled Let's Talk About Sex Work: Report of the REAL working group for Brantford, Haldimand, & Norfolk, Assessing the Needs of Sex Workers in Our Community. This report addresses the needs of rural-based sex workers in Ontario, Canada under Canada's anti-sex work legislation introduced in December 2014. They interviewed 30 sex workers and 12 social service and health service providers.

Amnesty International has published their Policy on State Obligations to Respect, Protect, and Fulfil the Human Rights of Sex Workers. Amnesty International calls for the decriminalisation of all aspects of adult consensual sex work including all laws which criminalise sex workers, clients, and third parties. Amnesty International also calls for the end of the discriminatory enforcement of other laws against sex workers, such as vagrancy, loitering, and immigration requirements.

In Australia, certain sexual acts performed in pornography are deemed offensive and degrading in criminal law. Zahra Stardust demonstrates how performer-producers are resisting government classification and criminal laws by engaging in sex workers' rights activism through creating performer-centered spaces and pioneering best practices labour standards. This article was published as a part of Research for Sex Work 15: Resistance and Resilience.

Jorge Flores-Aranda, Jonathan Bacon, and Claude Poisson provide an overview of the Sex Work Programme at Rézo, an organisation for men who have sex with men in Montréal, Canada. They argue male sex workers demonstrate resilience and resistence through the publication of the magazine the “Cowboy Urbain”. This article was published as a part of Research for Sex Work 15: Resistance and Resilience.

In Kampala, Uganda, there is a large network of sex worker-led organisations that unite under the umbrella organisation Uganda Harmonized Rights Alliance (UHRA). Paula Pönkänen and Hanna Jörneus argue that sex work organising in Uganda is a great example of how sex workers develop and implement their own programming. They provide an overview of sex worker-led programming in Kampala.