Resources

PION, Norway, with support from NSWP, submitted this shadow report to the 68th CEDAW Session, which took place October-November 2017. The report is based on in-depth interviews, conducted over a two-month period, with sex workers and social service providers. It documents how local administrative laws and the criminalisation of clients and third parties increase stigma and discrimination, impede access to justice and health services, and result in arbitrary deportations and evictions.

The Kenya Sex Worker Alliance (KESWA) and Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Programme, with support from NSWP and CREA, submitted this shadow report to the 68th CEDAW Session, which took place October-November 2017. Titled “Aren’t We Also Women,” the report incorporates quotes from sex workers and is based on desk research and extensive interviews with KESWA member organisations.

Project X, Singapore, with support from NSWP, submitted this shadow report to the 68th CEDAW Session, which took place October-November 2017. The report focuses on the various human rights abuses and discrimination. In particular, it focuses on the ambiguous legal framework governing sex work in Singapore and the impact it has on women’s lives.

The Nigeria Sex Workers Association- Precious Jewels (NSWA) submitted this shadow report to the 67^th CEDAW Session, which took place in July 2017. The report focuses on the impact of stigma, penalisation and discrimination on female sex workers' ability to access HIV prevention and health services, and their vulnerability to HIV and violence at the hands of police. The report also provides background information about NSWA and economic, health, and population context in Nigeria.

This report by Empower Foundation Thailand describes the organisation’s experience submitting a shadow report to and attending the CEDAW committee’s 67th session in Summer, 2017.  The report includes detailed information on all stages of Empower’s engagement with CEDAW, including their goals for engagement, drafting their report, and participating in formal and informal CEDAW sessions in Geneva.

Empower Foundation Thailand submitted this shadow report to the 67^th CEDAW session, which took place in July 2017. The report focuses on raids against entertainment industry establishments, which are perpetuated by the conflation of sex work and trafficking. The report details entrapment and police violence during raids, as well as lack of access to a fair trial, labour protections, and health for Thai sex workers. A detailed report on their experiences engaging with the CEDAW committee is also available here.

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' 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 following is a statement from the National Network of Sex Workers challenging the ‘Last Girl First’: Second World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Women and Girls (January 29-31, 2017, New Delhi, India) organised by the Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution International (CAP Intl).