Geneva, 2 June 2024 — On International Sex Workers’ Day, UNAIDS stands in solidarity with sex workers, advocating for their health and well-being.
Sex workers face intersecting forms of stigma and discrimination, including punitive laws and harmful policies. These barriers prevent them from accessing essential health services, such as HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and sexual and reproductive health care. Transgender sex workers, migrants, and those from racial and ethnic minorities encounter additional discrimination, increasing their risk of violence and harassment.
Research in sub-Saharan Africa reveals that sex workers in countries where sex work is criminalized are seven times more likely to live with HIV compared to those in countries where it is decriminalized. Another review shows that criminalizing sex work reduces condom access and use, while increasing violence against sex workers. Decriminalizing sex work could prevent 33% to 46% of HIV infections among sex workers and their clients over ten years.
UNAIDS reports that 22% of sex workers experienced stigma and discrimination in the past six months, and 12% avoided healthcare services due to these issues in the past year. Additionally, one in five sex workers faced violence in the last year.
Currently, 168 countries have laws that criminalize aspects of sex work. However, there is a growing movement towards decriminalization to protect sex workers. In May, Queensland, Australia, became the latest jurisdiction to decriminalize sex work.
“To protect sex workers’ health, leaders need to address the stigma, discrimination, and violence they face. This requires decriminalization. The evidence is clear: punitive laws harm sex workers and must be abolished,” stated Christine Stegling, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS.
About UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads global efforts to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS collaborates with 11 UN organizations, including UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO, and the World Bank. Working with global and national partners, UNAIDS aims to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
