National AIDS Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust and The Love Tank oppose the criminlisation of sex work and support the removal of punitive laws and practices that target sex workers and their clients. The strutural impacts or criminal laws for sex work and associates activities increase inequalities, and, rather than protect, increase sex workers’ risk of violence, poor sexual helath and HIV.
Globally, sex workers are disproportionally affected by HIV. In countries where data is available, the prevalence of HIV infection is nearly 21 times higher among sex workers than for the population as a whole.
The criminalisation of sex work obstructs evidence-informed HIV responses for sex work and increases vulnerability to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This briefing paper explores why we supportfurther exploration of decriminalisation.