Dear Friends, Supporters & Allies, 

Hello again in the New Year! We hope that you managed to get a break, and had a smooth start into 2026. 

At ESWA, most of the work at the beginning of the year is happening behind the scenes, but we do have a few updates we can already share with you. Stay tuned for the rest!  

In solidarity,
ESWA Team

By Elizabeth McGuinness (she/her), ESWA Policy Officer on Access to Justice

ESWA at Victim’s Rights Platform in Brussels

On January 20th, ESWA’s Policy Officer on Access to Justice attended an ad-hoc meeting of NGO members of the Victim’s Rights Platform in Brussels. Within, revisions to the Victim’s Rights Directive, provisionally agreed upon by EU negotiators in December 2025, were presented. ESWA welcomes acknowledgement of the role of third-party organisations in facilitating reporting of crimes (especially important for sex workers as well as other communities distrusting of police involvement in crime response). We are also pleased with strengthening of provisions for victims of sexual violence (though this fell short of guarantee of access to abortion), as well as introduction of buffers to prevent perpetrators of crime being granted access to victim’s data, such as full legal name. This is particularly relevant for sex workers who were previously deterred from bringing justice proceedings due to perpetrators being conveyed their identifying information. However, the revisions fail to enshrine a firewall against information reported as part of a crime from being used for purposes of migration enforcement, and does not oblige member states to grant residence permits to third-party nationals lacking legal residence status who experience crime. ESWA keenly awaits release of the final text in the coming months, to further analyse its relevance to sex workers experiencing victimisation.

ESWA at the Anti-Poverty Strategy Coalition

ESWA has also been busy resuming its role among the Anti-Poverty Strategy (APS) Coalition, 19 EU civil society umbrella organisations amplifying the voices of those most affected by poverty across Europe, and advocating for robust and comprehensive EU policy responses. The APS Coalition encourages Members of European Parliament to vote in favour of the INI report 2025/2095 on the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, in its version adopted in the EMPL Committee on 3rd December 2025.    

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.

By Yigit Aydinalp (he/him), ESWA Interim Executive Director and Ana Ornelas (she/her), ESWA Policy Officer

It seems like the tactics of surveillance and intimidation used on sex workers for years are now being expanded into other crowds: The Trump administration is attempting to bully digital rights activists into fear.

On the 24th of December, the US State Department announced entry bans on HateAid’s managing directors, former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed, and Global Disinformation Index CEO Clare Melford - all of them involved with digital rights and holding Big Tech accountable. They were labeled “radical activists,” and are now barred from entering the US. 

Events like these show that none of us is safe until all of us are safe. ESWA is in conversation with other digital rights organizations to strategize on how to deal with new attacks of this nature.

ESWA has joined other organizations, businesses, and experts to push for a roundtable with the European Commission on AI and digital services regulations. The demand comes in the form of an open letter penned by the Digital Intimacy Coalition to ask for representation that is long overdue. The Commission has repeatedly promised to engage but the actual invites never come, so the hope is this time they have no choice but to listen.

By Wszebor Sienkiewicz (he/him), ESWA Director of  Communication and Campaigns

Sex Work & Relationships with Spanish Subtitles!

We are pleased to share the community movie Sex Work and Relationships is now available with Spanish subtitles. ESWA warmly thanks the translator for donating their time to make this resource accessible to the Spanish-speaking members community. 

You can watch the full movie on ESWA YouTube!

If you haven't seen the film yet, now is a great opportunity - or, organise a screening for the upcoming Valentine's Day! 

If you have news you would like us to share in the next newsletter, send them to [email protected]

European Citizens’ Initiative to Suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement

All EU citizens can sign here: https://eci.ec.europa.eu/055/public/#/screen/home

Despite the acknowledgement of unprecedented civilian deaths and injuries in Gaza, mass displacement, the destruction of hospitals and medical facilities, and a blockade of humanitarian aid that amounts to starvation as a method of war, the EU continues to uphold the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the foundation of trade, economic, and political cooperation between the EU and Israel.

This initiative calls on EU citizens to refuse to accept an agreement that legitimises and finances human rights violations. We call on the European Commission to propose the full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

SWAN is hiring an Administrative Assistant

SWAN – Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network is a regional network operating across Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

SWAN Foundation is seeking a responsible, accurate, and communicative person for a part-time (20 hours/week) Administrative Assistant position. The Remote Administrative Assistant will work under the direct supervision of the Operations Manager and will be responsible for managing SWAN procedures and other tasks assigned by the Operations Manager and the Executive Director. Currently, SWAN is based in Budapest but will move to Vienna in the first half of the year.

The Administrative Assistant must be based in Vienna, Austria. The Vienna location is required for work logistics, liaising with local authorities/institutions/suppliers/banks, and supporting compliance with Austrian administrative and NGO regulations.

Deadline to apply: 13.02.2026, 23:59

Please see the term of references below, and share this open call with your networks.

Ancestral veneration for sex workers 

A workshop to explore ways in which sex work and spirituality can work together towards collective liberation.