Hands Off II Sex work Mozambique
Hands Off II Sex work Mozambique
Project
Nearly 70 percent of sex workers in Mozambique report having experienced violence, mainly perpetrated by clients. Aidsfonds, Tiyane Vavasate (sex worker-led group), Pathfinder (international NGO) and the National We Want Rights Platform (national sex worker-movement) work on reducing violence against sex workers in Mozambique. This is done by implementing activities that focus on strengthening the sex worker movement and by building strong relations with allies such as healthcare workers, politicians and law enforcement officers. Human rights violations against sex workers will be documented and used for lobbying and advocacy purposes. With the support of sex worker focal points in the eleven provinces in Mozambique, activities are rolled out on a national scale.
Project details
11 provinces Mozambique
Objectives
Hands Off 2 partners work to reduce violence against sex workers at community, national and regional level. In Mozambique, outcomes include a functional and sustainable national sex worker movement and empowering sex workers to influence policies and laws relevant for them. Partners are also working to increased police protection for sex workers, by working closely with the Polícia da República da Moçambique.
Community groups
The programme’s primary target group is female, male and transgender sex workers, meaning those who receive money or goods in exchange for sexual services, either regularly or occasionally. In Mozambique, activities also target healthcare workers, policy makers and police officials and officers.
Background
The most recent data on sex work shows an HIV prevalence of 28 percent among female sex workers. Around 29 percent of new HIV infections are among sex workers, their clients and men who have sex with men.
Sex work in Mozambique often takes place in clubs, pensions, hotels and barracas (stalls selling alcohol and other drinks). Sex work is common around mines and gas exploration sites in provinces such as Cabo Delgado. Even though there is no existing legislation in Mozambique that criminalises sex work, sex workers continue to report arbitrary arrests and corruption by law enforcement. Many sex workers don’t trust police and avoid reporting violence. Asking for support remains difficult, and a recent study shows that over 30 percent of the sex workers that experience violence do not ask for help.