The Racial Justice for Sex Workers Project is now in its third phase – Holding the Line: Embedding Racial Justice & Sex Worker Rights across communities of Practice and Policy Advocacy. This work is dedicated to coalition-building, and pushing values and systems change.
This work was built with racialised sex workers, is steered by racialised sex workers, and will continue to be.
The Racial Justice for Sex Workers Project began in 2022 as a participatory research initiative. It is now one of the only national projects exploring structural inequalities affecting racialised sex workers across multiple public systems, and we are still growing.
Racialised sex workers in the working group (paid roles)
Organisations engaged across five sectors
Sector-specific focus groups delivered
E-learning modules developed
Joseph Rowntree Charitable grants secured
What emerged from our research, dialogues, and sector focus groups directly shaped five e-learning modules: one of the first national training programmes to centre the experiences of racialised sex workers across multiple public service sectors. These modules are practical, sector-specific, and grounded in what professionals told us they actually needed.
Professionals working in healthcare, housing, policing, higher education, and the voluntary sector. Each module addresses the specific barriers, dynamics, and practice shifts relevant to that sector.
These policy reports are the foundation of the Racial Justice Project. Produced through participatory action research, recognising the expertise of racialised sex workers and building a working group whose contributions guided every stage, they map how racism and anti-sex worker discrimination interact across key areas of public life.
Guided by our national working group of racialised sex workers, this service supports sex workers in reporting harm perpetrated by those in positions of public trust, including but not limited to: police officers, healthcare providers, housing officers, and university staff. If you’d like support navigating complaints, recovery, or justice processes following a harmful incident, you can access our Reporting Professionals Form through the members’ area.
The working group is the heart of this project. Members are compensated for their time and contribute to shaping the project’s priorities, reviewing materials, and co-producing advocacy outputs. If you’re a racialised sex worker and want to find out about participating in the next phase, we’d love to hear from you.
If you work in healthcare, housing, policing, higher education, or the voluntary sector and want to engage with the project (through e-learning, a bespoke workshop, or a longer-term partnership) we would love to build with you.
The Racial Justice for Sex Workers Project has been made possible across all three phases by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, whose commitment to racial justice, rights, and grassroots leadership has provided the foundation for this work to grow.
