Resources from Funders and Allied Organisations Supporting Sex Workers’ RightsWe have organised the growing community of organisations supporting sex worker rights and provided brief introductions to strengthen the support available to the sex worker rights movement.
We have categorised them (funders, sex worker-led networks, and allied organisation) as well as created tags for key topics that intersect with our work.
“Amnesty International has grown from seeking the release of political prisoners to upholding the whole spectrum of human rights. Our work protects and empowers people – from abolishing the death penalty to protecting sexual and reproductive rights, and from combatting discrimination to defending refugees and migrants’ rights. We speak out for anyone and everyone whose freedom and dignity are under threat.”
The craigslist Charitable Fund (CCF) “provides millions of dollars each year in one-time and recurring grants to hundreds of partner organizations addressing four broad areas of interest.” The organization is known for donating heavily to nonprofit journalism outlets, gun control groups, and environmentalist groups.
The Digital Defenders Partnership offers support to human rights defenders under digital threat, and works to strengthen local rapid response networks. From 2012 to 2019, DDP received its funding from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom; along with the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the United States Department of State. DDP operates in a manner that is independent from its donors and is managed by the Humanist Institute for Development Co-operation (Hivos), a non-profit organisation headquartered in the Netherlands that provides funding and implements programmes to innovate for social change worldwide.
Hacking//Hustling is a collective of sex workers, survivors, and accomplices working at the intersection of tech and social justice to interrupt violence facilitated by technology.
Namati and their partners train and deploy community paralegals, they are the largest community of grassroots justice defenders in the world. “Our network brings together 3138 organizations and 12022 individuals from over 170 countries, all working to advance justice for all. Together with the communities we serve, we strive to translate the lessons from our grassroots experience into positive, large-scale changes to laws and systems. Namati is a learning organization. With our partners and our network members, we are continually working to understand how best to advance justice through legal empowerment. To date, we have authored or co-authored over 200 publications, including books, policy briefs, essays, peer-reviewed articles, and guides for practitioners.”
New Moon Fund is an intermediary fund, that provides capacity building support to sex worker and survivor-led organizations in the US that take a rights-based approach to sex trade related issues.
The Numun Fund is “a feminist technology response during COVID-19. It aims to support feminist groups, organizations and networks led by women, non-binary and trans people who use technology to advance feminist organizing and gender-just outcomes.” Feminist groups, organizations and networks led by women, non-binary and trans people are eligible to apply to Numun Fund.
“The Open Technology Fund (OTF) is an independent non-profit organization committed to advancing global Internet freedom. OTF supports projects focused on counteracting repressive censorship and surveillance, enabling citizens worldwide to exercise their fundamental human rights online. Through the research, development, implementation, and sustainability of technologies that facilitate the free flow of information, increase at-risk users’ digital security, and enable free expression, the OTF community is working to shape the Internet as a platform that fosters unimpeded connection and collaboration – facilitating positive social progress and reinforcing core democratic values.
Open Technology Fund has four different funds including Internet Freedom Fund and Rapid Response Fund.”
The Sex Work Donor Collaborative (SWDC) is a network of funders that have come together to increase the amount and quality of funding to support sex workers’ rights. To read the SWDC FAQ, learn more about this network, and join: visit SWDC’s website which includes further resources. SWDC does not make grants, but does share information about how to apply for funding from its membership organisations.
