Grantee-Partners Map
In the 10 years since our launch in 2012, Red Umbrella Fund has given 279 grants to 180 organisations in 68 countries. Every year we share our list of grants including the names of the grantee-partner organisations that request to be published on our website. Organisations that wish to stay anonymous do not have their name or country publicly available. Please contact us if you would like to contact any of our former-grantees or discuss their work.
In 2022 Red Umbrella Fund’s PAC awarded €1,300,000 – our first time giving more than a million in a single year – bringing total grants to €7,886,500!
| Organisation Name | Country | Region | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
Africa Sex Worker Alliance
Africa Sex Worker AllianceKenya international English This sex worker-led African regional network was created in 2009 and is based in Nairobi, Kenya. The Africa Sex Worker Alliance (ASWA) has sex worker-led organisations as members in 35 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. ASWA intends to use its grant to continue its advocacy in the region and continue to strengthen itself as a network. Learn more
|
Kenya | Africa | 2022 |
Bar Hostess Empowerment & Support Programme (BHESP)
Bar Hostess Empowerment & Support Programme (BHESP)Kenya Local, National English This Kenyan national sex worker-led organisation was created in 1998. BHESP runs three community-led clinics providing free and comprehensive health and legal services to sex workers. The group successfully reaches street sex workers who are considered particularly vulnerable. This organisation identifies county laws oppressing sex workers across Kenya and repeals them through legal actions, demonstrations, media campaigns and petitions. BHESP works closely with other sex worker groups in the country and region. Learn more
|
Kenya | Africa | 2018 |
Bar Hostess Empowerment & Support Programme (BHESP)
Bar Hostess Empowerment & Support Programme (BHESP)Kenya Local English BHESP was created in 1998 and runs 3 clinics in Nairobi providing health and legal services to Kenyan women sex workers. In 2020, the organisation had reached more than 20,000 individuals. To reach its aim of providing quality services to sex workers, BHESP works with over 180 sex worker peer educators. BHESP was instrumental in the creation of the Kenya Sex Workers Alliance. Learn more
|
Kenya | Africa | 2020 |
Goreto Nepal
Goreto NepalNepal Local English In a context where buying sex is criminalised, this sex worker-led organisation working in the Pokhara valley of Nepal aims to end stigma and discrimination faced by women sex workers and their children through community mobilisation, advocacy activities and alliance building.
|
Nepal | Asia/Pacific | 2020 |
Jagriti Mahila Mahasangha (JMM)
Jagriti Mahila Mahasangha (JMM)Nepal Local, Subnational, National English This network unites 27 community-based organisations of women sex workers in 22 districts of Nepal. JMMS raises awareness among sex workers about HIV and works to end violence against sex workers perpetrated by police, institutions, clients and intimate partners. The network provides legal counselling to sex workers and supports them with filing complaints with the police. At the national level, JMMS engages in CEDAW reporting processes and advocates against laws and policies that discriminate against sex workers and criminalise them.
|
Nepal | Asia/Pacific | 2018 |
Jamaica Sex Work Coalition (JSWC)
Jamaica Sex Work Coalition (JSWC)Jamaica National English This group of sex workers works to change laws that criminalise aspects of sex work in Jamaica. SWAJ promotes the rights of sex workers and aims to reduce stigma through outreach to the general public and videos that show the human face of sex work. The group organises workshops with police officers to sensitise them about how to interact with sex workers, especially street workers who are the most vulnerable to police harassment. SWAJ plans to organise a conference where sex workers will share their experiences with law enforcement. Learn more
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Jamaica | North America/Caribbean | 2018 |
Jamaica Sex Work Coalition (JSWC)
Jamaica Sex Work Coalition (JSWC)Jamaica Local, National, International English Jamaica Sex Work Coalition was created in 2007 following several reports from the Ministry of Health highlighting important gaps in service delivery for sex workers. The group advocates at national level for the rights of sex workers of all genders and pushes for legal reforms. The group organises workshops with law enforcement officers and media campaigns to end Jamaican society’s stigma and discrimination towards sex workers. Learn more
|
Jamaica | North America/Caribbean | 2020 |
Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA)
Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA)Kenya National English This national network of sex workers works with and connects 35 sex worker-led organisations in Kenya to improve their skills and knowledge on topics such as organisational development, fundraising and human rights policy advocacy. KESWA organises campaigns to influence law and policy makers at national level to decriminalise sex work and improve living and working conditions for sex workers and end the high levels of violence against sex workers. Learn more
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Kenya | Africa | 2014 |
Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA)
Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA)Kenya National English This national network unites and represents sex worker-led organisations in all 47 counties of Kenya. KESWA organises media boot camps and builds leadership skills of its members. The network trains sex workers as paralegals and human rights defenders to improve sex workers’ access to justice. KESWA is working towards a strategic litigation case to decriminalize sex work in the country and is developing a security plan to address violence against sex workers. Learn more
|
Kenya | Africa | 2019 |
Mahila Sahayogi Samuha
Mahila Sahayogi SamuhaNepal local English Mahila Sahayogi Samuha was set up in 2008 to address the specific needs of female sex workers in the East of Nepal. The organisation now has over 500 members and works to strengthen sex workers’ knowledge of their human rights to end stigma and violence through advocacy, alliances and community mobilisation. Learn more
|
Nepal | Asia/Pacific | 2022 |
Mahila Sahayogi Samuha (MSS)
Mahila Sahayogi Samuha (MSS)Nepal Local English This local self-led organisation in the east of the country was set up in 2008 to address the specific needs of female sex workers. The group includes sex workers living with HIV and people who use drugs and the majority of its more than 300 members are illiterate. MSS works to build sex workers’ understanding of human rights. The group is connected to other sex worker groups and allies and reaches out to the local government to end stigma and violence against sex workers and increase the recognition of sex work as work among service providers and government.
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Nepal | Asia/Pacific | 2019 |
Men Against Aids Youth Group (MAAYGO)
Men Against Aids Youth Group (MAAYGO)Kenya Local English Created 2008, this sex worker-led organisation in Kisumu, a port city on Lake Victoria, advocates for the rights of communities with multiple stigmatised identities (e.g., sex worker, LGBTQI+, and/or living with HIV). MAAYGO’s mission is to provide men sex workers and men having sex with men, especially those living with HIV, with access to quality health services. The group runs a safe space where young LGBTQI+ can meet, exchange experiences, access free condoms, receive HIV counselling and simply be themselves. Learn more
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Kenya | Africa | 2017 |
Nijgadh Mahila Samuha (NMS)
Nijgadh Mahila Samuha (NMS)Nepal local English This sex worker-led organisation formed in 2009 works locally in Nepal to strengthen the capacity of female sex workers through advocacy, leadership and networking ultimately strengthening the feminist movement as a whole.
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Nepal | Asia/Pacific | 2022 |
Sangharsha Mahila Samuha (SMS)
Sangharsha Mahila Samuha (SMS)Nepal Local, Subnational English This women-led sex worker organisation in Bhaktapur District in the east of the Kathmandu Valley was set up in 2010 to promote the health and human rights of sex workers. The group works together with other organisations to improve access for sex workers to health services including HIV and STI treatment and safe abortion services. SMS will take action during the international 16 days of activism against gender based violence campaign to address violence against sex workers.
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Nepal | Asia/Pacific | 2019 |