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Wrap up of the Feminist Inquiry into Violence against Sex Workers in Australia and Thailand, July 21–22.

#sexwork #australia #thailand #cevaw #scarletalliance #apnsw #empowerfoundation #swingfoundation #respectinc #sinsa #swopnsw #swopnt #vixen #msiaustralia #urgentactionfund #thammasatuniversity
«Sex Worker Safety is a Human Rights Issue» A wrap up of the Feminist Inquiry into Violence against Sex Workers in Australia and Thailand. [logo: CEVAW.] [logo: Scarlet Alliance.] ‣ On Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 July, sex worker organisations from Australia and Thailand gave testimonies to an expert panels at the Feminist Inquiry into Violence against Sex Workers, organised by ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW). The Inquiry was organised by CEVAW Research Fello Dr. Debolina Dutta in consultation and collboration with Scarlet Alliance, Empower Foundation, and the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers, co-sponsored by Urgent Action Fund and Women's Fund Asia, and supported by MSI Australia. Sex worker advocates from Scarlet Alliance, Vixen, Respect Inc., SWOP NSW, SWOP NT, SIN, Empower (Thailand) and Swing (Thailand) gave testimonies discussing how sex workers experience violence, how different areas of law intersect with sex workers' lives, and what are priorities for legal reform. ‣ Violence is not a part of our work. For decades, sex workers have been clear that violence against our communities is not inevitable, but is produced by stigma, discrimination, criminalisation, and the denial of our human rights. The Inquiry reinforced what our peer organisation have long known. When sex workers are listened to and our rights are protected, we are safer. Violence doesn't exist because sex work exists. It exists because systems marginalise sex workers. Governments must move beyond acknowledging violence and address the conditions that enable it. That means ending laws and policies that increase harm, investing in peer-led organisations, tackling stigma, and ensuring sex workers can report violence, seek justice and access services without discrimination. "Research has shown us that post-decrim, sex workers across Victoria continue to prioritize our sexual health, and of course, our bodies are our business, why wouldn't we? We're maintaining consistently very high condom use, and overall very high continued sexual health testing rates, We've seen that very little has changed to our sexual health practices as Victorian sex workers without the threat of coercion." — Vixen. "The crime of prostitution is like a tool used to discriminate against us. To devalue us, to blame us first. Our pain is worthless because we became prostitutes." — Empower. "Thai law does not merely fail to protect my work. It defines my workplace as a crime scene." — Swing. "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sex workers are not longer fearful of criminalisation for undertaking sex work. However, workers have reported that interactions with NT police are more frequent. Occurrences of incarceration are also more frequent. Racism is more frequent, and so is the fear of police…" — SWOP NT. "Criminalisation is a direct barrier to sex workers accessing quality healthcare and undermines our protective measures." — SIN South Australia. "Decriminaisation of sex work on its own is necessary, but not sufficient. What made it real for sex workers in Queensland was the ongoing funded, peer-led infrastructure that assisted sex workers to access and exercise their new rights." — Respect Inc. "Decriminalisation is not the endpoint of reform, and should be just the foundation for broadening workplace protections, providing education to regulators who interact with the industry, introducing anti-discrimination laws, and reducing broader cultural manifestations of stigma and discrimination." — SWOP NSW. ‣ Where to from here? The panel will prepare a report and the findings from the Inquiry will inform the upcoming Victorian legislative review of sex work decriminalisation and support sex worker-led mobilisation for decriminalisation in Thailand. ‣ The panel: Marcia Neave (Inquiry Chair). A law reformer, public policy maker, a former judge, and academic. Fiona Patten. A former sex worker, sex worker rights advocate and an Australian politician. Pranom ‘Bee’ Somwong. A Thai feminist lawyer and woman human rights defender. Christine Robinson. A Bundjalung woman and CEO of Wirringa Baiya. Heather Douglas. Professor at the Melbourne Law School and a Chief Investigator at CEVAW. ‣ Acknowledgements. The Feminist Inquiry into Violence against Sex Workers in Australia and Thailand was organised by CEVAW in collaboration with Scarlet Alliance (Australia), Empower Foundation, and the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (Thailand), with support from partner organisation Thammasat University. The Inquiry was co-sponsored by Urgent Action Fund (Asia and Pacific) and Women's Fund Asia, with special thanks to MSI Australia for their support. [logos: CEVAW, Scarlet Alliance, Empower Foundation, Thammasat University, APNSW, MSI Australia.]
July 29, 2026 at 6:02 PM