Until the recent slashes in funding, the US and the Netherlands provided vital support to sex workers around the world through programs on public health, ending violence and systems change. The SWDC and researchers investigated publicly available data and developed a methodology for quantifying the anticipated impact of Dutch and U.S. funding cuts on sex worker organizations and projects. In this Briefing Paper we discuss approximately how much funding is threatened by recent cuts, what this funding was supporting and what will these cuts mean for global sex workers.

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Watch video of webinar launch here

Listen to audio of webinar launch in English

Listen to audio of webinar launch in Spanish

Listen to audio of webinar launch in French

Listen to audio of webinar launch in Nepali

Created by the members of SWDC, this toolkit is designed for funders, donors, funder intermediaries, and co-implementers who are committed to human rights and interested in exploring how their funding impacts the sex worker community. This toolkit is designed to help funders navigate the often-complex issues surrounding sex work and to offer practical steps for developing a principled, human rights-based approach to grantmaking—moving toward ensuring greater inclusion and equity. 

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Watch video of our launch event here.

Listen to audio of our launch event here.

We offer free workshops to funders based on the Toolkit. Please contact us for a presentation or more information.

Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) was one of the most important funders of sex worker rights movements in the world and was a founding member of SWDC. In the early 2020s, OSF closed its Public Health Program, including its global giving to sex worker rights movements. This report was commissioned to assess the funding landscape for sex worker rights, the impact OSF’s withdrawal is having on sex worker rights organizations and movements, and to learn how sex worker-led organizations are finding possible ways forward.

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Please contact us for a presentation or more information about this report.