ABSTRACT
Sex work is a highly precarious form of labour in most settings worldwide, due to criminalisation and punitive legal and policy environments; lack of labour protections; and stigma and discrimination. Sex workers exert agency in their work and organising efforts – including through powerful sex worker-led initiatives advocating for the full decriminalisation of sex work, improved working conditions, protection from violence and discrimination, and equitable access to health and social care services. This chapter brings together different and overlapping perspectives, including sex workers’ lived experiences, to synthesise evidence and highlight ‘best practices’ and opportunities for action across research, policy and practice. To inform actions to advance the health and human rights of sex workers, we outline a series of evidence-based interventions and ‘best practices’, which include the full decriminalisation of sex work, community empowerment, multi-level interventions, and interventions that integrate multiple health and social issues. Essential to the success of all of these interventions is the meaningful involvement of sex workers and sex worker-led organisations, to ensure sex workers’ voices are centred in all decision-making that directly affects their lives, work and health.
