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.
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.
Founded in 2004, HER Fund mobilizes resources for women’s empowerment, the promotion of social changes and gender equality. “We support the most vulnerable women and girls in Hong Kong by providing capacity-building, leadership training and small grants to grassroots organizations led by and serving the most disadvantaged. We also increase the visibility of marginalized women and girls—and the issues they face.” Informal groups based in Hong Kong may apply with a registered organisation. There is significant accompaniment available through the organisation to support the applications process.
Hispanics in Philanthropy is strengthening Latinx leadership, influence and equity by leveraging philanthropic resources, and doing so with an unwavering vision on social justice and shared prosperity across the Americas.
“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.”
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.
Positive Women’s Network (PWN) – USA “is a national membership body of women living with HIV and our allies that exists to strengthen the strategic power of all women living with HIV in the United States. Founded in 2008 by 28 diverse women leaders living with HIV, PWN-USA develops a leadership pipeline and policy agenda that applies a gender lens to the domestic HIV epidemic grounded in social justice and human rights.”
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 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.”
