mandatory testing

Animation: The Impact of Anti-trafficking Legislation and Initiatives on Sex Workers

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. 

Infographic: The Impact of Anti-trafficking Legislation and Initiatives on Sex Workers

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. 

Policy Brief: The Impact of Anti-trafficking Legislation and Initiatives on Sex Workers

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.

Briefing Paper: Sex Workers’ Access to Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Services

Globally sex workers experience a number of barriers to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, ranging from explicit exclusion from international financing to discrimination within SRH services leading to lower access rates.

This paper discusses the obstacles sex workers face when accessing SRH services, and examines the quality of services available to them. It also provides practical examples and recommendations for improving the accessibility and acceptability of SRH services for sex workers.

State Commission for Human Rights in Chihuahua, Mexico Makes Recommendation on Trans Sex Workers' Rights

On 10 November, Mireya Rodríguez Lemus, President of the Asociación Civil, Unión y Fuerza de Mujeres Transexuales Chihuahuenses, announced the first recommendation made by the State Commission on Human Rights on the rights of transgender sex workers in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. 

Sex Workers in Mexico file complaint with the National Commission on Human Rights

In Mexico, sex work is considered a public health problem because it is associated with the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Due to this, health regulation is based on reducing or eliminating the effects of sex work on the general population, through mandatory health checks and sanitary control. This comes at a high economic cost for sex workers and violates their human rights.  

HIV and STI Testing and Treatment Policies

This briefing paper explores sex workers' experiences of HIV and STI testing and treatment programmes from a global perspective. Sex workers are rarely included in the development and implementation of programming. Programming that does exist often violates the rights of sex workers. Through case studies and interviews, this briefing paper demonstrates there is a need for greater investment in appropriate, high-quality, rights-based services, and research led by sex workers in order to meet the specific needs of this population.

Failures of Justice: State and Non-State Violence Against Sex Workers

This community-based research by the Sex Workers' Rights Advocacy Network (SWAN) is about sex workers’ experiences of state and non-state violence, and hindered attempts to access justice in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The study was undertaken in sixteen countries of our region, with local research teams comprised of sex workers and allies joining efforts. It provides an insight on how stigma and the criminalization of sex work enables daily violence and repression that sex workers face from police and non-state actors. This entails barriers to accessing legal aid and justice, as well as harm reduction, health or social services.

NSWP Statement Condemning Arrests and Mandatory Testing of Sex Workers in Kisii County, Kenya

Sixty-five sex workers were arrested on Thursday 19th November in Kisii County, Kenya. The following day, the sex workers were taken to Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital and tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The leading officer from the Kisii Governor’s Office, Mr. Patrick Lumumba, stated there were too many sex workers loitering the streets of Kisii, “spreading HIV and STIs to married men”.