Sex workers demonstrate civil society potential with impact on UNAIDS guidance
28 February 2008
In 2007, sex workers demonstrated how civil society can influence broader policy when they inputted into UNAIDS’ Guidance Note on HIV and Sex Work. There had been concern that the UNAIDS document did not sufficiently reflect evidence-based approaches to HIV and sex work, so the group (the Global Working Group on HIV & Sex Work Policy) alerted UNAIDS to this – with positive results.
The Alliance’s Frontiers Prevention Project supported more than 30 sex workers to attend a meeting in Delhi, India, arranged by the working group. The September meeting, attended by experts and representatives of sex work projects and networks, helped produce a draft re-working of the guidance note.
There had been concerns that the UNAIDS guidance note did not address evidence-based approaches to HIV. There was also concern that the document did not reflect the realities of sex work, including
- male and transgender sex workers
- police and state-sponsored violence
- the role that sex worker organisations play in the HIV response
- inadequate access to affordable HIV prevention commodities, for example condoms.
Another concern was that the document could increase stigma towards sex workers (hampering prevention, treatment, and care initiatives) by focusing on getting women out of sex work and reducing client numbers to the detriment of other evidence-based prevention activities.
The Global Working Group on HIV & Sex Work Policy developed a website to address the issue (www.sexworkpolicy.wordpress.com) and the revised guidance note was presented to UNAIDS.
A letter from UNAIDS’ executive director Peter Piot thanked the group for their work, saying that he had shared their ideas with UNAIDS staff. “I am confident that we can use the recommendations as we continue to work together,” the letter said. It goes on to say “this kind of consultation and exchange will strengthen both the participating groups and our ongoing collaboration.”
