International Sex Workers’ Rights Day 2026
3 March 2026

Today, National Ugly Mugs joins the global sex worker rights community in marking International Sex Workers’ Rights Day.

The day began on 3rd March 2001, after 25,000 sex workers in Kolkata took to the streets to demand recognition of their human and labour rights. Around the world, organisations now use this day to advocate for policies that prioritise health, safety and dignity over stigma, punishment and moral judgement.
Twenty-five years later, sex workers’ rights are still up for debate in far too many spaces.

International Sex Workers’ Rights Day exists to highlight the need for proper legal protections, the decriminalisation of sex work, and the recognition of human rights for everyone – regardless of gender, background or migrant status.

At National Ugly Mugs, we stand in solidarity with sex workers across the UK and internationally who continue to organise, advocate and demand better.

Lynsey Walton, CEO of National Ugly Mugs, said:
“International Sex Workers’ Rights Day is a reminder that rights don’t depend on what job someone does. As Parliament debates laws that directly affect sex workers in the UK this week, those shaping these laws have a responsibility to listen. Time and time again, sex workers have said that criminalisation makes them less safe. Labour rights and decriminalisation are what create safer working conditions.”

Every day at NUM, we see that sex workers are experts in their own safety. Yet across the UK, criminalisation continues to be proposed as a solution. As the Crime and Policing Bill is debated in the House of Lords this week, it is vital to remember that the real experts are the people whose lives are shaped by these laws.
Too many sex workers still feel unable to report violence safely. That should concern all of us.

In a cost-of-living crisis, more people are navigating multiple income streams to survive. Rights and protections must follow people wherever they work. In a climate where migrant communities face increasing scrutiny, it is essential that sex workers, regardless of immigration status, can report harm without fear. And as online regulation evolves, digital safety tools must be strengthened, not restricted in ways that increase harm.

At NUM, our role is to build tools, partnerships and policy change alongside sex workers – not about them, not without them.
We will continue our advocacy. We will continue sending briefings, engaging policymakers and building evidence. But however complex the political landscape becomes, the principle remains simple:
Listen to sex workers.
Rights for all.
Because rights are not conditional. They are universal.

This International Sex Workers’ Rights Day, join us in demanding an end to all forms of violence against sex workers – including the structural violence that keeps people unsafe.