This resource is a Community Guide to the Briefing Paper: Sex Workers’ Experiences of Stock-outs of HIV/STI Commodities and Treatments. It provides an overview of the full Briefing Paper, and provides key recommendations for policy makers and health service providers.
Globally, sex workers are disproportionately affected by HIV, with prevalence estimated to be up to 34 times higher among sex workers than the general population. Access to commodities for HIV prevention, detection and access to treatment is critical to the health and wellbeing of sex workers around the world. Interventions recommended in World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for key populations, including sex workers, include comprehensive condom and lubricant programming; HIV testing and counselling; HIV treatment and care; and sexual and reproductive health interventions.
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.
Research for Sex Work 14: Sex Work is Work is a peer-reviewed publication for sex workers, activists, health workers, researchers, NGO staff and policy makers. It is available in English and Spanish. All issues of Research for Sex Work can be found here.
UHAI EASHRI, the East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative, announces the 5th Regional Changing Faces, Changing Spaces Conference (CFCS V) which will be convened from the 17th to 19th June 2015.