Global Network of Sex Work Projects
Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) is an organization that fights for the health and human rights of sex workers. It is a private, nonprofit group based in Edinburgh, Scotland, founded in November 1990. NSWP works as a membership organization with members from Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Caribbean.
NSWP publishes many resources, including policy papers, briefing papers, community guides, global and regional reports, smart guides, statements, the Research for Sex Work Journal, and case studies. It supports the decriminalization of sex work and wants to see sex workers represented in international policy forums.
The group says it helped popularize the term “sex work” over “prostitution” in big institutions like UNAIDS and the World Health Organization. NSWP aims to amplify voices of sex worker–led organizations and advocates for rights-based services, protection from abuse and discrimination, fair laws, and self-determination for sex workers. It mainly works with sex worker–led regional networks and helps them build capacity.
NSWP began in November 1990 at the 2nd International Conference for NGOs working on AIDS and was registered in the UK in 2008. In 2008, it received $60,000 in grant funding from the Open Society Foundations. In 2009, NSWP became co-chair of UNAIDS’ Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work, helping shape UNAIDS policy and statements.
In 2025, Russia designated NSWP as an undesirable organization. In 2013, NSWP released a consensus statement on sex work, human rights, and the law outlining eight advocacy goals for the movement. In 2015, Alejandra Gil, a former NSWP vice president, was convicted in Mexico City of human trafficking and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:01 (CET).