Job Opportunity: Research Assistant (Racial Justice for Sex Workers)
19 November 2021
Please note that applications for these roles have now closed.
We are looking for two research assistants to join us at NUM to support our Racial Justice for Sex Workers research project!
This project will examine barriers to reporting violence experienced by workers of colour during their sex working and discrimination as it pertains to their accessing public services. Researchers will lead hear from sex workers of colour and explore various public sector complaints processes and provide information necessary to improve support services, develop pathways for sex workers’ increased reporting of harm by those in positions of public trust, bring about the systems changes necessary to end medical racism, systemic racism within the policing, housing/landlord discrimination, academic discrimination within universities and other forms of layered inequities and injustices faced by sex workers of colour and the larger population.
This role will co-design and conduct research to gather data from NUM members and other sex workers of colour across the UK, to better understand the treatment of sex workers of colour within the public sector, and what needs to be improved to make sure that they and other sex workers receive quality support.
- £2,400 per research contract for an estimated 160 hours at 10 hours a week between December 2021 and June 2022
- Reporting to the Racial Justice Project Lead
We are looking for someone with the following qualities:
- Must identify as Black, or a person of colour (BPOC), and have experience working within an anti-racist framework.
- A clear understanding of the complexities of systemic racism and how factors such as gender, disability, poverty, mental health and access to resources, and other intersections influence the perspective of sex workers of colours’ lived experiences and how they may engage with services and research.
- Be well read on previous research and sex workers’ writings on this topic, and on projects undertaken by NUM involving sex workers of colour.
- Have knowledge of systemic racism as it operates within the UK and be embedded within an anti-racist and anti oppressive framework, whether this be through previous work, activism or personal life experiences.
- Possess a wide awareness and understanding of the sex work landscape and sex work organisations and support services within the UK.
- Have a deep understanding of racial politics and particularly how that pertains to people in protected categories of identity, and their access to public services and police protection.
- Experience with qualitative data analysis preferred.
- Be familiar with all aspects of the work of National Ugly Mugs and other sex worker-serving and sex worker-led organisations.
- Demonstrable experience in and understanding of sex work, sex worker rights and self-determination.
- Have a commitment to NUM’s core values of compassion, contribution, integrity and inclusion.
- Possess strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience working independently and leading projects.
- Formal research experience in the humanities or social sciences is desirable, but not required for the role.
- Be legally permitted to work in the UK