3. Sex workers need more exchange among themselves

The need for more peer-to-peer exchange among sex workers is a theme that runs through all focus groups. This means that in order to improve the mental and physical health of all sex workers, spaces must be created in which they can empower each other and learn from each other. This is particularly important in view of the isolation of sex workers, especially for those whose work is increasingly taking place outside of prostitution venues. These spaces can be of various kinds:

  • Self-help groups for specific communities of sex workers, for example sex workers with  disabilities and/or chronic illnesses, trans sex workers or escorts
  • Exchange events with various formats and content, for example
    • Discussion rounds on the topic of safety (exchange of strategies and skills, warning each other about dangerous clients, etc.) and on the topic of services, prices and condoms (establishment of a price system and exchange of strategies to enforce this and the use of condoms among customers).
    • Information events with sex workers as speakers
    • Focus groups to identify problems and collectively develop solutions – for example, using the focus group method tested in this study
    • General “chatting” and exchange on everyday working life
  • Supervision services to collectively discuss challenges at work with a psychologically trained person.
  • Networking of sex workers, for example by setting up chat groups in messenger services