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!
This regional network has 36 active organisational members in 28 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, quality HIV and health services, setting up sex worker-led legal services and developing advocacy strategies.
The sex worker organisation Empower Chiang Mai builds leadership capacity among Thai and migrant sex workers and advocates for safe and healthy work conditions. Created in 1985, the group is well connected nationally and internationally and known for its creative activism. Empower runs a museum called “This is Us” aimed at educating the public and has produced books and films. The group facilitates exchanges between sex workers in the region and campaigns for the decriminalisation of sex work.
This national network unites sex workers who are organised in peer support groups in 25 cities and provinces of Vietnam. Vietnam Network of Sex Workers (VNSW) aims to represent the voice of sex workers at national level to improve laws, policies, and practices that impact on sex workers’ lives. The network builds capacity of women and men sex workers in the area of HIV harm reduction, community work, management, and advocacy through trainings and mentoring.
This community-based organisation in the Indian state of Karnataka was created in 2007 to address the specific needs of sex workers living with HIV. Ashraya provides a safe space for sex workers living with HIV to connect, access health and social services, and benefit from alternative income generating activities and other economic empowerment services. The group works with sex workers of all genders. Ashraya amplifies the voices of sex workers living with HIV in decision-making spaces and campaigns for legal reforms in India to improve the human rights of sex workers living with HIV.
This sex worker-led group promotes sex workers’ safety, health, and human rights by mobilising the community and organising capacity-building opportunities for sex workers. HARC provides referrals to HIV and sexual and reproductive health services. The group also challenges laws and policies that are harmful to sex workers. Building on the knowledge and experience gained through the group’s previous Red Umbrella Fund grant, HARC plans to use this grant to build the capacity of five local sex worker groups in five major cities of Bangladesh to address human rights violations and promote respect for sex workers.
Indonesian Sex Workers’ Organization / Organisasi Perubahan Sosial Indonesia (OPSI)
Indonesia
Local, National
English
With a presence in 19 provinces in Indonesia, this sex worker-led network provides HIV and other health services to sex workers through drop-in centres, outreach, and referrals. OPSI builds partnerships with government, service providers and HIV organisations to improve sex workers’ access to HIV and STI prevention, treatment and care services. With this grant, OPSI plans to study the impact on sex workers of brothel closures in six major Indonesian cities, and the connection between human rights violations and HIV/STI vulnerability. OPSI will use the results of this research in its advocacy work.
This peer-led community network of women sex workers in Fiji advocates with the national government for the human rights of sex workers. The group raises human rights awareness among local authorities and promotes respect among sex workers. Created in 2014, this grant will enable the group to strengthen its organisation and build internal capacity in areas of leadership and management. Strumphet Alliance Network aims to increase the visibility of the organisation and its messages through developing educational materials.
This organisation works to increase social acceptance for men and transwomen sex workers in India, and to secure their fundamental rights as citizens. Adarsha is active at the local level in Mysore and other districts in the state of Karnataka, and contributes to national advocacy efforts. The group supports sex workers to access health and general social services through peer outreach work and referrals, and builds sex workers’ leadership skills. Adarsha mobilises sex workers and allies to improve laws, policies and practices around sex work, homosexuality and gender identity.
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.
This national network unites 29 member organisations representing sex workers of all genders and different localities in Bangladesh. The group aims to strengthen its member organisations by building their leadership capacities. SWNOB works with community leaders and the media to raise awareness about the human rights of sex workers, and takes action against brothel evictions and violence from law enforcement institutions. SWNOB advocates at the national level for the inclusion of sex workers in the country’s social security strategy
This group in West Bengal advocates for the rights of sex workers at local and national levels in India. SMS has been actively opposing a harmful new anti-trafficking bill. The group interacts with government departments to ensure access to social entitlements for sex workers and to secure their participation in advisory and decision-making bodies that address issues relevant to them and their families. The group runs 20 Self-Regulatory Boards, an effective community-led anti-trafficking mechanism that has been endorsed by the Supreme Court of India
This organisation was established in 2007 to support and represent sex workers living with HIV in India. Most of its members and activities are in the state of Karnataka. The group builds human rights awareness among its community and works with sex workers, health care providers and government officials to improve sex workers’ access to HIV and other health and social services. Ashraya works with the Ministry of Women and Child Development to improve access to housing and income supplements.
This regional network 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, quality HIV and health services, setting up sex worker-led legal services and developing advocacy strategies.
HARC represents over 5,000 women sex workers mainly in the capital city Dhaka. The group works to improve sex workers’ health by conducting peer outreach and condom distribution, building sex workers’ knowledge on HIV and STIs and by providing referrals to services. The group builds sex workers’ skills in human rights advocacy and collaborates with the National Human Rights Commission and other allies to lobby for changes in laws and policies that negatively impact on sex workers’ lives. They were featured for their COVID-19 response on Australian TV: https://www.dw.com/en/covid-19-special-bangladeshs-sex-workers/av-59050940
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.
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.
This organisation of young trans women sex workers was established in 2013 as a local self-help group. Strong Ladies is the only organisation formed by and for trans women sex workers in Ho Chi Minh City. The group provides HIV prevention information and services to sex workers and collaborates with the Vietnam Network of Sex Workers (VNSW) to promote the human rights of sex workers. The group is expanding their health interventions for transgender sex workers and will provide consultation on sexual health via live-streams.
G3VN works in the Southern provinces of Vietnam to empower transgender women sex workers and advocates for their access to friendly and gender-sensitive services. The group conducts research, trainings for healthcare providers and community mobilisation activities and supports the trans and intersex community in the Ho Chi Minh City region through outreach.
The sex worker-led organisation Empower Chiang Mai working with women sex workers and particularly migrant women sex workers, advocates for safe working conditions. Created in 1985, the group is well connected nationally and internationally and is known for its creative activism. The group also runs a museum to educate the public on sex workers’ rights.
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.
Indonesian Sex Workers’ Organization / Organisasi Perubahan Sosial Indonesia (OPSI)
Indonesia
Local, National
English
This national network with members in 20 provinces of Indonesia works to uphold sex workers’ human rights. OPSI increases sex workers’ awareness of their human rights through trainings and advocates for better laws and the meaningful involvement of sex workers in processes and decisions that affect them.
This regional network 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.
HARC represents over 5,000 women sex workers mainly in the capital city Dhaka. The group works to improve sex workers’ health by conducting peer outreach and condom distribution, building sex workers’ knowledge on HIV and STIs and by providing referrals to services. The group builds sex workers’ skills in human rights advocacy and collaborates with the National Human Rights Commission and other allies to lobby for changes in laws and policies that negatively impact on sex workers’ lives.
Established in 2013, Strong Ladies provides healthcare and carries out advocacy to promote equal rights for sex workers in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. With this grant, the group will organise media events, conduct seminars and provide health services.
In a context where sex work is regarded as a criminal activity that can be subjected to severe prosecutions, this sex worker-led organisation working in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic aims to establish a national socio-political and economic environment in which sex workers’ voices and priorities are duly valued.
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.
