We Are Professionals Too

Website
www.weareprofessionalstoo.org
Contact email
info@weareprofessionalstoo.org
Who do you work with?

Our work as an institution is primarily targeted at sex workers including other key populations like MSM and those in the LGBT community.

How are sex workers involved in your organisation?

Currently, the organization works with over 250 sex workers since the roll out of our new interventions across three districts in Sierra Leone. In the institution’s governance arrangement, sex workers are at the core of our stakeholder groups; whether it’s at the management or program delivery levels.

Which of NSWP priority areas does your organisation work on?
Oppose the criminalisation and other legal oppression of sex work and support its recognition as work
Critique the trafficking paradigm that conflates representations of sex work, migration, and mobility
Advocate for universal access to health services, including primary health care, HIV and sexual and reproductive health services
Speak out about violence against sex workers, including violence from police, institutions, clients, and intimate partners, while challenging the myth that sex work is inherently gender-based violence
Oppose human rights abuses, including coercive programming, mandatory testing, raids and forced rehabilitation
Challenge stigma and discrimination against sex workers, their families and partners, and others involved in sex work
Advocate for the economic empowerment and social inclusion of sex workers as sex workers
What are the two main challenges that the sex workers you work with face

Stigma and Discrimination emanating from Cultural barriers  Criminalization of sex work  

Describe other areas of your work

Other areas of our work are centered around providing voices, the needed tools and platforms for our targets to be heard and make their concerns felt. Human rights and influencing of law enforcers is one of our work as well in addition to championing campaigns on the rights of the LGBT community.

Region
Africa
Country
Сьерра-Леоне