Justice & policy | Access to Health | Digital Rights | Community Spotlight | Opportunities
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Dear Friends, Supporters & Allies,
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As 2025 is nearing its end, we wish to take a moment to thank you for your ongoing support. It was a difficult year, with all progressive movements suffering setbacks. But despite shrinking funding and regressive sentiments on the rise, ESWA is not only still here, but growing, welcoming new network members and staff.
December marks not only the end of the year, but also the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. To commemorate this day we have launched our research on Sex Workers’ Experiences as Victims of Crime. You will find it below and on our website.
We are still searching for a new executive director - the open call is extended until January 9th. Please share it with your networks, and if you see yourself in the role, don’t hesitate to apply.
We wish you a safe, healthy, and joyful end of year, and we look forward to reconnecting with you in 2026.
In solidarity,
ESWA Team
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Welcome our New Policy Officer on Access to Justice!
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Elizabeth McGuinness (she/her), M.A., M.Sc., is an Irish advocate and researcher at the intersections of human rights, mental health, gender, violence, disability, sexuality, and stigma.
Joining ESWA as Policy Officer on Access to Justice, she brings over seven years’ experience along the research-policy pipeline at national, regional and international levels. Her work has revolved around intimate-partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, and more recently in rights-based transformation of (mental) health systems. Familiar to ESWA, Elizabeth authored ESWA’s research concerning stigma and discrimination in health settings in Europe and Central Asia, and is a current member of ESWORN, where she contributed to Gold Standard Guidelines for Safe and Ethical Sex Work Research.
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By Irena Ferčíková Konečná (she/her), ESWA Policy Officer and Elizabeth McGuinness (she/her), ESWA Policy Officer on Access to Justice
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Joint letter on New EU Drug Strategy
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We signed a joint letter with other civil society groups calling on EU Member States to rethink the proposed EU Drug Strategy and Action Plan. The new strategy focuses almost exclusively on security and combatting trafficking and has removed the previous focus on health, harm reduction and safe drug use. As a result, harm reduction is completely overlooked and no longer treated as a health priority.
This matters because harm reduction saves lives. The EU recorded more than 7,500 drug-related deaths in 2023, yet the new Strategy risks pushing harm reduction aside and focusing too much on policing and drug trafficking. That could lead to less funding and weaker support for people who use drugs.
We are asking governments to put harm reduction back at the heart of EU drug policy, keep health and human rights central, and adopt a balanced approach that focuses on saving lives, not just enforcement.
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New Research: Sex Workers' Experiences as Victims of Crime
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European laws commit to protecting all victims of crime, including sex workers, and recognise their increased risk of violence and discrimination. They also acknowledge violence against women as a structural issue. Yet in reality, sex workers face immense barriers in accessing justice, support services, and legal protection.
To better understand and address these gaps, ESWA conducted a research that documents sex workers’ experiences with the police following incidents of violence, harassment, and other crimes.
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By Lisa Philippo (she/her), Programme Officer on Access to Health
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Closure of CORE
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This month marked the closure of the COmmunity REsponse to End Inequalities (CORE) project. Over the past three years, ESWA collaborated with 24 organisations from 16 EU countries on this large project to improve HIV testing and response. By supporting local community-led organisations, the project aimed to close the gap between healthcare facilities and the communities most often left behind in the formal health response, like sex workers and people who use drugs.
We closed the project during an in-person meeting in Berlin, where all project partners joined to reflect on the successes and challenges and brainstorm about the future.
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HIVOutcomes at the European Parliament
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We joined HIVOutcomes in their event at the European Parliament: EU Leadership at a crossroads: Ensuring lifespan and gender equity in the HIV response. Hosted by EU Parliament Vice President Victor Negrescu and moderated by the amazing Amanita Calderón-Cifuentes, we discussed tangible steps that European Parliamentarians can take to put HIV and access to health back on the European Agenda.
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By Yigit Aydinalp (he/him), ESWA Interim Executive Director and Ana Ornelas (she/her), ESWA Policy Officer
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Chat control will not break encryption, but we’re still not out of the woods
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ESWA is keeping a close eye on the recent developments in chat control. After a lot of back and forth, it seems the European Commission has entered the final stages of negotiations. Good news is that the most invasive proposal - scans that would break encryption in the name of child safety have been scrapped, but there are still a lot of questions in the air and potential for more surveillance.
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In the past weeks several accounts in the community have been deleted by Meta - but this is sadly a part of a bigger purge. Sex education, queer content, and reproductive rights accounts have also been shut down. There is a lot of press attention surrounding this, but Meta is doubling down. Someone inside sources say that the purge will likely continue, and that folks should look for mailing lists or other alternatives. Sadly not surprising, but important to include in social media/communications strategy for 2026.
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In this section we share news and initiatives from our members that stood out to us this month. Would you like to be featured in the next Community Spotlight? Message [email protected].
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Join us in Welcoming our New Members
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2nd Reissue of the Sex Work Act by SMART Berlin
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Our member SMART Berlin has shared an updated version of the Sex Work Act (SAG), published in November 2025. This revision reflects extensive feedback and discussions with sex workers, authorities, advice centres, and other stakeholders, as well as recommendations from the evaluation report by the Kriminologisches Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen. The updated document is now available on the SMART Berlin website. They ask tohelp by sharing the draft of the Sex Work Act.
The Our Work. Our Rights. Our Law.campaign continues to welcome support and can be contacted at [email protected].
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If you have news you would like us to share in the next newsletter, send them to [email protected]
ESWA is looking for our new Executive Director! - Extended Deadline
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ESWA is looking for a passionate, strategic and collaborative leader to guide our work supporting sex workers’ rights across Europe and Central Asia. This is a remote position based in Europe or Central Asia, with regular travel required.
We strongly encourage migrant, racialised, women and trans sex workers to apply.
Application deadline extended: 9 January, 2026
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IPPF is hiring an Community engagement and Partnership lead
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The IPPF EN Regional Office is recruiting a Community Engagement & Partnership Lead for a full-time, fixed-term (3-year) position based in Brussels, Belgium, with hybrid working conditions. Applications are particularly encouraged from people representing communities that face exclusion and barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive rights. The deadline to apply is Sunday 4 January, 2026.
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Call for Papers: 'Solidarities Beyond Silos'
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The Anti-Trafficking Review is inviting submissions for a special issue on ‘Solidarities Beyond Silos’, edited by Ella Cockbain and Joel Quirk. The issue seeks applied, empirically grounded contributions exploring solidarity and cross-movement organising beyond narrow anti-trafficking frameworks, with a focus on real-world case studies across areas such as labour rights, migrants’ rights, sex workers’ rights, racial justice, LGBTQI+ rights, disability justice, and more. Full articles (5,000–8,000 words) and shorter pieces (1,200–1,500 words) are welcome. The submission deadline is 1 December 2026, with publication planned for September 2027.
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SWAN is hiring a Capacity Building Programme Officer and a Policy and Advocacy Officer
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The Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network (SWAN) is recruiting for two part-time (50%) positions starting February 2026: a Capacity Building Programme Officerand a Policy & Advocacy Officer. Both roles are remote, with a preference for candidates based in or originally from the CEECA region, and focus on strengthening sex worker-led organising, advocacy, and regional collaboration. SWAN strongly encourages applications from sex workers and people from marginalised communities, with priority given to suitably qualified applicants with sex work experience. The application deadline is 5 January 2026 (24:00 CET).
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An ongoing PIC project- Open Call
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The Red Light SWer Archive (RLSWA) is launching an Oral Archive project designed to give sex workers greater control over their own histories, particularly experiences that have been excluded from dominant narratives of sex work. The archive will be created through one-on-one audio recording sessions between sex workers, with care taken to ensure consent, respect, and participant control over anonymity. Sex workers of all backgrounds are welcome to participate, including those whose work histories or identities fall outside mainstream representations, and no prior experience with audio recording or archiving is required. Participants will be compensated for their time and travel, and the project is guided by a commitment to respect, transparency, and integrity.
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TGEU is looking for an Interim Executive Director
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TGEU is recruiting an Interim Executive Director for a full-time position (40 hours/week) starting February-March 2026, based in Berlin, Germany. The role will focus on organisational leadership and development, fundraising, and human resources, supporting staff, the Board, and member organisations to advance TGEU’s mission for the rights and wellbeing of trans and non-binary people across Europe and Central Asia.
Applications deadline: 10 January 2026.
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Hand picked books, videos, articles and podcasts, recommended by ESWA staff and members. Tell us your recommendations to be featured in the next newsletter!
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Film: Pillion (2025) by Harry Lighton
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Set within a queer motorcycle subculture, Pillion (2025) follows a young man who becomes involved in a dominant–submissive relationship, tracing how their connection develops over time as issues of power, trust, consent, and emotional dependency are negotiated within an unconventional intimate dynamic.
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Article: Philosophical Guidelines for Research, Media Representation, and Policy-Making on the Topic of Sex Work
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Emilian Walter's essay offers an ethical and philosophical framework for researchers, policy-makers, film-makers, and writers working on the topic of sex work. It argues that in order to provide a more accurate and useful representation of the industry, three philosophical shifts have to take place. The first shift is from stigmatising sex workers to picturing them as complex, diverse, and whole human beings. The second shift is from moral ethics to pragmatic ethics. A pragmatic approach interrogates the practical consequences of our beliefs and rejects the idea that there is a universal ethical principle. The third shift is from considering sex work as an isolated topic to embracing an approach based on Edgar Morin’s concept of complex thought, in order to address the systemic interdependencies and multidimensionalities of the topic.
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Book: Loving Corrections (2024) by adrienne maree brown
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This selection of prescient, compassionate essays explores patterns we engage in that are rooted in limited thinking. Through a lens of 'loving correction' rather than mere critique, author adrienne maree brown helps us reimagine how to hold ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities accountable by setting clear boundaries, engaging in reflection, and nurturing honest relationships.
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