Sex Worker Networks Consortium
The Sex Worker Networks Consortium is a global consortium of networks working to advance the health and human rights of sex workers.
| Grantee type: Global Consortium |
| Grant: $2,820,000 |
| Grant period: 2019-2021 |
| Lead organization: Global Network of Sex Worker Projects (NSWP) |
Partner organizations:
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Created in 2013, the consortium currently includes six networks: the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW); African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA); Caribbean Sex Work Coalition (CSWC); Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (SWAN); and La Plataforma Latino Americana de Personas que Ejercen el Trabajo Sexual (PLAPERTS).
- As defined in the UNAIDS Guidance Note on HIV and Sex Work, sex workers are female, male and transgender adults and young people (over 18 years of age) who receive money or goods in exchange for sexual services, either regularly or occasionally.
- As individuals, sex workers are routinely denied their human rights. In most contexts, they face criminalisation, punitive laws, policies and practices. Within their daily lives, they experience stigma, discrimination and violence. As a result, sex workers often lack access to appropriate and quality services and support, including for health. This has significant negative consequences on health outcomes.
- Sex workers are disproportionately affected by HIV. Globally, HIV prevalence among among sex workers is estimated to be 21 times higher than HIV prevalence of the general population.
- Sex workers lived experience of their own health needs is essential to addressing barriers to accessing health services. The capacity of sex worker-led networks to organise and advocate is central to efforts to improve the human rights environments, improve access to HIV service, improve access to justice, and improve efficiency and effectiveness of national and international funding for health and human rights.
- Sex worker-led organisations also face multiple challenges. They often operate in hostile environments – where it is illegal and/or highly challenging for them to register and obtain funding to undertake advocacy and provide services. They frequently face disrespect from other stakeholders.
RCF funding 2019-2021
The Sex Worker Networks Consortium received US$ 2.82 million in funding from the Robert Carr Fund during 2019-2021, building on steady RCF investment in sex worker networks since 2013. This funding was allocated to both core and strategic program costs across all major regions of the world to help build the capacity of each consortium partner and to support globally aligned action.
Geographic coverage
The Sex Worker Networks Consortium is a global consortium, convening and supporting sex worker-led networks and organisations in all regions of the world. Key countries identified by regional networks for organizing and capacity-building included Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Angola, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Gambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, New Guinea, Seychelles, South Soudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Suriname, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Population coverage
The Sex Worker Networks Consortium focuses on the empowerment, leadership, health and rights of sex workers in every region of the world.
Activities 2019-2021
With RCF funding in 2019-2021 to the Sex Worker Networks Consortium, sex worker-led organisations will strengthen their national, regional and global organising, advocate for human rights and legal protections, and develop advocacy tools and campaigns. For example:
- All Consortium partners are using RCF funding to convene members from multiple countries for shared regional and global activities, sustain representative and democratic governance, and build management and programmatic capacity.
- Regional networks will also establish links with individual sex workers in countries where there are no sex worker-led organisations to support movement building and advocacy. Outreach will focus initially on eight countries in the Middle East North Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, the Caucuses, and the Caribbean.
- Since 2016, over forty briefing papers and guides were produced and disseminated by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) with RCF support. NSWP’s website site maintains a collection of advocacy tools and other resources accessible in 5 languages: Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian: https://www.nswp.org/resources
- Capacity support included support for advocacy related to the international normative guidance Sex Worker Implementation Tool (SWIT), which provides guidance about community empowerment, HIV and STI and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programming, approaches to address gender-based violence, organisational capacity building, and organisational strengthening, including financial management and governance, and advocacy for rights-affirming national and international policies for sex worker health and rights.
Intended results 2019-2021
The intended results from this work during 2019-2021 will include:
- Network strength and influence: Regional networks will connect and support movement building with sex workers in Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, the Caucuses, and the Caribbean, and across all regions, sex worker-led organisations will work together in a globally aligned movement for the empowerment, leadership, health and rights of sex workers in every region of the world
- Human rights: In every region of the world, sex worker-led organisations will continue to advocate for programming to address discrimination, stigma and violence and for rights-affirming national and international policies for sex worker’s health and rights.
- Access to services: In every region of the world, sex worker-led organisations will advocate for access to comprehensive health and services and access to justice in alignment with guidance by the World Health Organization and UN agencies.