Policy

Sex workers, like all service industries, rely on online ads to expand & communicate with clients. However, data from the AESHA Project finds that third party criminalization and censorship impede access to essential advertising tools. Learn more in this new poster.

The AESHA Project explored sex workers' psychosocial wellbeing and access to sexual health services through conducting interviews with sex workers and their third-party supports. Findings showed that sex workers faced limited access to sexual health education, testing and workplace training as well as challenges in implementing best practices for occupational health and safety. Learn more in this poster!

New research by the SHAWNA Project examines the impact of social factors like food insecurity, violence and substance use on HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Check out this infographic to learn more about their findings and recommendations

Popular discourse and sex work policy often ignore the needs and realities of men, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit (MNB2S) sex workers. The AESHA Project found that MNB2S sex workers face intersecting barriers to reporting violence. Read more about their findings and recommendations.

The IRIS Project aimed to understand how immigration status impacts B.C. residents’ access to COVID-19 testing and health care. They found that that temporary residents were 47% more likely to test positive for COVID-19 but 50% less likely to see a doctor. Check out the infographic to learn more about their findings and recommendations.

Access to safe, voluntary and sex work-friendly sexual health testing is one of many occupational health and safety priorities for sex workers. In the context of ongoing criminalization and occupational stigma, the AESHA Project explored sex workers’ access to HIV/STI testing. Learn more in this infographic!

AESHA project data shows that im/migrant sex workers are 2.5 times more likely to experience client condom refusal and twice as likely to have gaps in health care insurance coverage. To find out more about health barriers among im/migrant sex workers in Metro Vancouver, check out the infographic. Available in English and Chinese! AESHA项目研究结果表明：移民/移居性工作者和非移民性工作者相比，在工作中有2.5倍的可能性被客人拒绝使用安全套，并且有超过2倍的可能性缺少医疗保险。请看下面的资讯图表来了解关于更多大温地区移民/移居性工作者在健康方面面临的障碍。有英文和中文!

The SHAWNA project found that 16% of women living with HIV were unable to access primary healthcare in the last 6 months. Read this infographic to learn more about the lack of access to primary care among women living with HIV and SHAWNA's recommendations to address this issue.

The SHAWNA project found that 66% of women living with HIV were unhoused or had unstable housing in the recent past. Read this infographic to learn more about the barriers to stable housing among women living with HIV and SHAWNA's recommendations to address this issue.

47% of women in the SHAWNA project have had their HIV status disclosed without their consent. 19% of women in SHAWNA have experienced HIV stigma through verbal and/or physical violence. Read this infographic to learn more about the harms of disclosure without consent and SHAWNA's recommendations to address them.

SHAWNA data shows that reporting sexual and/or gender minority identities is strongly associated with poor treatment by health professionals & inability to access health care services. Read more about the finding and recommendations of their study in this infographic.

The IRIS Project aimed to understand how immigration impacts young women’s experiences of pregnancy, motherhood, and marriage. They recommend free and accessible childcare for all people in British Columbia regardless of income level and full immigration status for all. Check out the infographic to learn more.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 200 Vancouver-based sex workers answered survey questions about potential changes faced in working conditions, income, food security, and access to services during the pandemic, as part of the AESHA study. Learn about the findings and recommendations in this infographic!

The SHAWNA project found that 76% of their participants have been incarcerated in their lifetime. They identified some critical needs to address post-release from incarceration, such as safe, gender-specific & accessible housing options, including transition-specific housing. Read the infographic to learn more!

The IRIS study examined how home, travel, and transit experiences shape immigrant women’s needs, desires, and expectations of health services in British Columbia. Read this infographic to learn more about their findings and recommendations.

Based on data collected from over 900 women sex workers (2010-2019), the AESHA project found that there is a link between housing precarity & violence among women sex workers in Vancouver. Learn more about the findings and recommendations in this infographic.

The SHAWNA project found that 96% of their participants, who are women living with HIV, have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Some factors that increased the likelihood of women experiencing violence include incarceration, non-consensual HIV status disclosure and housing insecurity. Learn more about SHAWNA's calls to action to better support women living with HIV.

Since 2014, sex work in Canada has been regulated under a legal framework known as ‘end-demand criminalization’. A central part of this framework is to criminalize sex workers’ clients. Drawing on 47 in-depth interviews with sex workers and third parties (e.g. managers & phone handlers), here are some key findings by the AESHA Project on the topic of client criminalization.

In the SHAWNA project, 51% of women living with HIV report they would benefit from support to ensure their HIV medication consistency. Indigenous and racialized women were found to have higher barriers & less access to supports. Read SHAWNA's evidence-based recommendations on how to better support women living with HIV.

Women living with HIV in the SHAWNA Project experience extremely high levels of HIV stigma. 88% of participants have reported experiencing HIV stigma in their lifetime. Read SHAWNA's evidence-based recommendations on how to better support women living with HIV e.g. addressing non-consensual disclosure of HIV status by health providers.

Despite decades of advocacy by sex workers & allies, ongoing criminalization of sex work and occupational stigma hinder sex workers’ ability to collectivize & access support services. “Community participation” has been shown to enhance sex workers’ occupational health, safety & wellbeing around the globe.

A SHAWNA policy brief demonstrating the need for more investment in the health of marginalized women who experience incarceration. Heightened experiences of HIV-related stigma within correctional facilities can lead to experiences of isolation and discrimination for women living with HIV. Implementing educational programs and reviewing institutional processes can help break down barriers to health care in prison settings.

British Columbia's mandatory three-month wait period for health coverage for newly arrived im/migrants violates human rights and has a disproportionate and debilitating impact on racialized im/migrant women, according to a new study from the IRIS Project, which calls for immediate repeal of this policy.

Sex workers globally have faced disproportionate health and social inequities primarily caused by high levels of criminalization, policing, stigma and limited investment in community-based sex work support services.

Evidence-Based Recommendations for Service Providers, Researchers and Policy Makers

Conversion therapy is not a single and clearly defined practice. Overt conversion therapy is a collection of practices that are, in fact, only the “tip of the iceberg.”

Conversion therapy practices continue to occur throughout Canada; eliminating it requires knowing where it is taking place.

End-demand sex work laws are informed by myths, misinformation and the conflation of sex work with sex trafficking. Sex work third parties like managers/venue owners, website providers and security guards are criminalized and stigmatized. This cycle of criminalization and stigmatization amplifies dangers for sex workers and hinder sex workers’ access to occupational health and safety.

Child custody removal disproportionately targets communities marginalized due to social and economic disadvantages. Indigenous Peoples’ child custody removal is deeply embedded in ongoing racist policies and colonial history of forced family separation and genocide. Yet, there is surprisingly little known about how child welfare policy impacts maternal health.

Sex workers who use drugs face significant barriers to harm reduction resources as both sex work and drug use are criminalized. This AESHA Project Infographic summarizes the harms of policing and criminalization for sex workers who use drugs.

A SHAWNA infographic showing the demographics of SHAWNA participants, who are women (cisgender and transgender) living with HIV who reside in or travel to Metro Vancouver to access HIV care services. Demographics include age, sexual orientation, gender identity, experience with stigma etc.

A SHAWNA infographic showing how criminalization, incarceration, and social and structural vulnerabilities are closely linked; the need to redress the overcriminalization of women living with HIV; and the need for interventions and release plans to be women-centred, include housing and substance use supports, and address the cyclical nature of violence and incarceration.

A SHAWNA infographic showing how and why trauma-informed care is essential for HIV health. Concludes with implications: Trauma-informed care is needed to support antiretroviral adherence; there is a requirement for responses to structural vulnerabilities that expose women to trauma such as incarceration and unstable housing; and chronic underfunding of HIV responses for women should be addressed.

A SHAWNA infographic showing percentages of SHAWNA participants who have experienced violence due to their HIV+ status and who have had their HIV+ status disclosed without their consent. Discusses non-consensual disclosure, HIV-related violence, physical or sexual violence, and difficulties taking antiretroviral medications. Includes implications that initiatives are needed to reduce HIV-related stigma and gender-based violence; rights to privacy and confidentiality must be ensured; and trauma-informed care is required for women living with HIV.

CGSHE researchers collaborated on a paper titled "Global epidemiology of HIV among female sex workers: influence of structural determinants" which was featured in the Lancet series on HIV and sex work. Information from the research is featured in this infographic.