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.
African Sex Worker Alliance (ASWA) is a sex worker-led African regional network that was created in 2009 and is based in Nairobi, Kenya. ASWA has more than 70 sex worker-led organisations as members in 33 African countries. The network amplifies the voices of their sex worker members and advocates for the health and human rights of the diverse community of sex workers working and living in Africa.
“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.”
This regional network
Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW) has 32 active organisational members in 23 countries that work together to promote the human rights of sex workers of all genders in Asia and the Pacific. APNSW conducts advocacy with regional intergovernmental bodies and the United Nations. The network provides training and technical support to its members on human rights, and quality HIV and health services, sets up sex worker-led legal services, and develops advocacy strategies.
The European Network for the Promotion of Rights and Health among Migrant Sex Workers (TAMPEP) promotes the human rights of migrant sex workers at local, national and regional levels in Europe. To support its advocacy, the network documents and shares the stories, good practices and needs of its members, develops position papers, and supports sex workers’ presence in key advocacy spaces. TAMPEP actively reaches out to other migrants’ rights organisations to build alliances and collaborate for migrants’ rights in Europe.
European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance (ESWA) was formerly known as International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE). This sex worker-led network has a membership of 105 organisations across 35 countries of Europe and Central Asia. At national level, ICRSE supports sex workers’ self organisation though trainings, development of activities or strategic plan as well as submission to governmental consultations. At European level, ICRSE coordinates advocacy and campaigns and has been very active in building alliances with key European civil society networks across movements, and especially with migrants and LGBTI+ organisations.
Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) exists to uphold the voice of sex workers globally and connect regional networks advocating for the rights of female, male, and transgender sex workers. NSWP is a membership organisation – members are local, national, or regional sex worker-led organisations across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Northa America and the Caribbean. Their languages include English, Spanish, Russian, French, and simplified Chinese.
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.
“The Human Capability Foundation (HCF) is a grant-making foundation based in the UK. Founded in 2011, we support organisations working for the rights of marginalised communities.
The Foundation’s primary focus is in India and on the issues of: Women’s Education and Empowerment; Youth Education; Mental Health & Disability Rights; Labour; and Migration. The HCF seeks to build long-term funding relationships with NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and CBOs (community-based organisations).”
Humanity United is “a philanthropic organization dedicated to cultivating the conditions for enduring peace and freedom. We recognize that we live in a deeply interconnected world, where we are all united by the challenges and opportunities we face.”
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.
Red Umbrella Fund (RUF) is the first and only global fund dedicated to supporting the rights of sex workers. It was established in 2012 to respond to the lack of funding available for sex workers’ rights organising. In line with its core values of autonomy and ownership, Red Umbrella Fund is a sex worker-led, participatory fund.
Red de Mujeres Trabajadoras Sexuales de América Latina y El Caribe (REDTRASEX) [The Network of Women Sex Workers of Latin America and the Caribbean] was born in 1997. RedTraSex is made up of organizations of women sex workers and/or former sex workers. The network is made up of organizations from 14 countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Mexico). Their communication language is Spanish.
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.
“The SWGC is a cross-class, multi-racial, intergenerational giving circle made up of a group of Fellows with current or past experience with sex work or the sex trade. The Fellows make all high-level funding decisions and grantmaking recommendations, and lead many of our fundraising activities.”
