On 19th May India’s Supreme Court announced a ruling expanding the rights of sex workers and defining sex work as a profession. “It need not be gainsaid that notwithstanding the profession, every individual in this country has a right to a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the court observed.
NSWP has launched an update to the Global Mapping of Sex Work Laws project, which maps sex work laws around the world. The information in the map reflects legislation (as of December 2021) that affects sex workers through the criminalisation of the sale and purchase of sexual services, and the facilitation, management or organisation of sex work, as well as other laws used to regulate sex work such as mandatory health checks and travel restrictions.
This infographic summarises the Briefing Paper on Sex Workers’ Lack of Access to Justice.
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.
Organisations in Canada, including NSWP members, have circulated a statement calling on Ontario to stop the expansion of policing powers and put an end to Bill 251.
Ontario’s Bill 251 is named the Combating Human Trafficking Act, but the statement explains that this law will do nothing to prevent human trafficking and will instead target the most marginalised.
NSWP member organisation TAMPEP has called for sex workers to receive equal treatment with other professions. The statement comes as areas of Europe enter new periods of lockdown and sex workers continue to face extreme hardship as well as stigma and discrimination.
You can read an excerpt of the TAMPEP statement below or visit the TAMPEP website to read the full statement.
This animation looks at sex work through a labour framework, and advocates for the recognition of sex work as work. Where sex work is criminalised, sex workers’ workplaces are often excluded from national labour laws.
The Sex Work as Work animation is a new tool for sex workers' advocacy worldwide. It was designed and created by Smo Sienkiewicz.
This animation describes the different legislative frameworks used to criminalise and oppress sex work and sex workers, including oppressive regulatory frameworks.
The Sex Work and the Law animation is a new tool for sex workers' advocacy worldwide. It was designed and created by Smo Sienkiewicz.
This animation looks at the harms caused to sex workers in countries where the Nordic Model has been introduced and is intended as a tool to strengthen and support NSWP members and sex workers’ rights advocates’ ability to actively challenge proposals to introduce the Nordic approach in their countries.
The Challenging the introduction of the Nordic Model animation is a new tool for sex workers' advocacy worldwide. It was designed and created by Smo Sienkiewicz.
Trafficking in persons has generated increasing global attention in recent decades, largely due to the development of international frameworks, pressure from fundamental feminist and abolitionist groups, and as a reaction to increased migration for labour. International policies on trafficking frequently contain vague or ambiguous language, which can cause harm to sex workers in a number of ways.
This infographic looks at sex work through a labour framework, and advocates for the recognition of sex work as work. Where sex work is criminalised, sex workers’ workplaces are often excluded from national labour laws.
The Sex Work as Work infographic is a new tool for sex workers' advocacy worldwide. It was designed and created by Smo Sienkiewicz.