Globally, sex workers are 13.5 times more likely to be living with HIV than others. Sex work is criminalised in over 110 countries contributing to high levels of violence, stigma, discrimination and other human rights violations. This often results in inconsistent condom use and prevents sex workers from accessing necessary legal support and health care. For example, only 22.5% of female sex workers in Africa have access to HIV prevention programmes. These barriers make sex workers considerably more vulnerable to HIV and AIDS, as well as other sexually transmitted infections and different forms of violence.
In this video, we spoke to Julia Vilanculos, who works as coordinator for female sex workers at the National Platform for Sex Workers’ Rights in Mozambique. She talks about the multistakeholder approach of the Hands Off approach for sex worker rights.
Read more about Hands Off!Aidsfonds works to improve the health and well-being of sex workers. To this end, we give funding for advocacy and empowerment activities and ensure the availability of sex worker-friendly services. We involve sex worker-led organisations and networks in improving the provision of tailored HIV services and advocating for their human rights.
Modelling estimates show that a reduction of almost 25 percent in HIV infections among sex workers can be achieved when physical or sexual violence is reduced. Since 2015, Aidsfonds, together with in-country partners, including many sex worker-led organisations, have worked to reduce violence against sex workers via the Hands Off programme. At the moment, the programme is active in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
While combating violence is the domain of the police, in South Africa, they were major perpetrators of violence. Aidsfonds financed and supported the development of the Dignity, Diversity and Policing training manual to address the stigmatising and discriminatory attitudes by South African Police. After years of lobby, Dutch civil society umbrella organisation, COC, and other partners got South African Police Services (SAPS) and sex workers to work together on the basis of a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding. A crucial step in the prevention of HIV, since violence undermines prevention efforts and makes sex workers more vulnerable to HIV.
The Love Alliance is based on an unwavering commitment to protecting, promoting and fulfilling SRHR globally, unifying people who use drugs, sex workers and LGBTIQ+ movements, and amplifying the diversity of voices in these communities.
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The Hands Off programme works to reduce violence against sex workers at community, national and regional level.
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The Emergency Fund provides uninterrupted services and safety for people living with and vulnerable to HIV in times of war and disruption in Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) region, including Ukraine. The region has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world. The Fund focuses on the urgent unmet needs of key populations, builds the capacity and sustainability of the community systems response, and addresses the scarcity and fragmentation of international funding for key populations. It provides small, middle and larger grants to local community-led and community-based organisations, who provide low-threshold, fast-paced, client-oriented aid to the people around them. Cooperation is at the core of our work: Aidsfonds has formed a partnership with Eurasion Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (ECOM) and Alliance for Public Health (APH) on the establishment of this Emergency Fund.
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Through the participatory grantmaking model, we provide funding and structural support, including capacity strengthening, support in advocacy and coalition building, to key population-and/or key population-based organisations in the region.
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