Publications & Tools

Globally sex workers experience a number of barriers to comprehensive
sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, ranging from explicit
exclusion from international financing to discrimination within SRH
services leading to lower access rates.

This paper discusses the obstacles sex workers face when accessing
SRH services, and examines the quality of services available to them. It
also provides practical examples and recommendations for improving the
accessibility and acceptability of SRH services for sex workers.

A Community Guide is also available.

HRFN’s report”examines the state of global human rights funding across issues and populations to explore where support for intersectionality may truly exist. The report is the first comprehensive and global analysis of when and if grants to support human rights reach beyond a single issue or community. The findings show that a resoundingly small fraction of human rights funding supports activism that cuts across multiple communities or issues. Just 18% of human rights grants name two populations, and less than 5% support three or more.”

Of all the populations explored, grants for sex workers were the most likely (71% compared to 33-65%) to be intersectional with at least 2 other populations.

In 2013, The WHO together with UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNDP the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) and the World Bank published ‘Implementing Comprehensive HIV/STI Programmes with Sex Workers: Practical Approaches from Collaborative Interventions’ (or the SWIT as the document has become known). The SWIT reaffirms that the health of sex workers doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and that countries should work towards the decriminalisation of sex work, and the empowerment and self-determination of sex working communities, as a fundamental part of the fight against HIV.

“One of the main findings, as detailed in the recent FCAA and Elton John AIDS Foundation “Converging Epidemics: COVID-19, HIV & Inequality” report, was that HIV-related intermediary funders are best positioned to provide flexible, strategic support for the most critical needs of community members and community-led groups working at the intersection of HIV, human rights and racial justice.
The purpose of this follow-up briefing paper is to help make the case for greater investment in HIV-related intermediaries, particularly those that are community-rooted and community-led.
It explores their role, added value and impact, and key challenges and needs. It also looks at the strategic and practical considerations that donors who currently support intermediaries take into account when developing relationships with their intermediary partners.
Finally, this briefing paper also offers new benchmark data to contextualize the level of HIV-related philanthropy moving to intermediary and community-rooted funding organizations.
We hope that the case studies and insights from interviews conducted and data analyzed for this paper will encourage donors — whether public or private, large or small — to invest in community-rooted funders and/or adopt some of the community-rooted practices described within.
A series of recommendations for putting this into practice is included at the conclusion of this briefing paper.”

Read the full report.
Read the individual report case studies
Initiative Sankofa d’Afrique de l’Ouest
Southern AIDS Coalition and the Contigo Fund
Global Network of Young People Living with HIV and Advocates for Youth
Red Umbrella Fund
Read the accompanying report: Converging Epidemics: COVID-19, HIV and Inequality

“Commissioned by OSI’s Sexual Health and Rights Project, Sex Worker Health and Rights: Where Is the Funding? takes stock of existing funding for sex worker health and rights initiatives, and assesses trends and implications around such support. The purpose is to generate greater awareness about the pressing needs of sex workers (including the right to be free from discrimination and violence, have safe working conditions, and quality health services) and about the opportunities for donors to fund groups undertaking these critical efforts.” (2006)

This report documents the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 pandemic measures on marginalized and criminalized communities. State responses to Covid-19 have magnified the inequalities faced by groups and communities that were already targeted or otherwise impacted by unjust and discriminatory criminal laws, including LGBTI people, sex workers, people who use drugs, people in need of abortion, homeless people and people living in poverty. Putting human rights at the heart of
government efforts to address public health emergency responses is not an optional consideration, it is an obligation.

The Kua ‘ana Project is at the intersection of public health, decriminalization, Indigenous rights, and the rights of trans and gender expansive people as they serve the Pasifika trans women and sex workers in Honolulu. Maddalyn Sesepasara, who leads the project, explains that steady allyship means that organizations like hers have enough funding to support both direct service and advocacy efforts, which are equally important.