This technical brief is one in a series addressing four young key populations. It is intended for policy-makers, donors, service-planners, service-providers and community-led organisations. This brief aims to catalyse and inform discussions about how best to provide services, programmes and support for young people who sell sex. It offers a concise account of current knowledge concerning the HIV risk and vulnerability of young people who sell sex; the barriers and constraints they face to appropriate services; examples of programmes that may work well in addressing their needs; and approaches and considerations for providing services that both draw upon and build the strengths, competencies and capacities of young people who sell sex.
The brief identifies considerations for policy, research and funding as follows:
Supportive laws and policies
- Work for the decriminalization of sex work, same-sex behaviours and drug use
- Change policing procedures so they do not allow confiscation of condoms for use as evidence of selling sex for criminal charges.
- Work toward developing non-custodial alternatives to the incarceration of young people who sell sex or use drugs or engage in same-sex activity.
- Prevent and address violence against young people who sell sex
- Examine current consent policies to consider removing age-related barriers and parent/guardian consent requirements that impede access to HIV and STI testing, treatment and care.
- Address social norms and stigma around sexuality, gender identities and sexual orientation
- Include relevant, rights-based HIV prevention and treatment programming specific to the needs of young people who sell sex in national health plans and policy.
Strategic information and research, including:
- Population size, demographics and epidemiology, with disaggregation of behavioural data and HIV, STI and viral hepatitis prevalence by age group and sex.
- Research into health interventions and programmes for young people who sell sex and the effectiveness of their delivery, especially services offered by sex worker-led organisations
- Research into the impact of laws and policies upon access to health and other services for young people who sell sex
- Involvement of young people who sell sex, including those aged under 18 years, in research activities to ensure that they are appropriate, acceptable and relevant from the community’s perspective
Funding
- Increase funding for research, implementation and scale-up of evidence-informed initiatives addressing young people who sell sex.
- Ensure that there is dedicated funding in national HIV plans for programmes with young people who sell sex, and for programmes that address overlapping vulnerabilities.
- Recognise overlapping vulnerabilities of key populations in funding and delivery of services.
You can download this 44 page document above. This resource is in English.