Violence Against Sex Workers: Risks, Rights, and Real Solutions

When we talk about violence against sex workers, physical, emotional, and systemic harm targeted at people who exchange sex for money. Also known as anti-sex worker violence, it’s not random—it’s shaped by laws, stigma, and the absence of legal protection. This isn’t just about individual attackers. It’s about policies that push sex workers into dangerous corners, police who ignore their reports, and landlords who evict them for doing their job. In the UK, where sex work is legal but related activities like soliciting or brothel-keeping aren’t, sex workers are caught in a legal gray zone that makes them easy targets.

Criminalization of sex work, laws that punish activities around sex work rather than the work itself directly fuels violence. Loitering laws, prostitution-free zones, and police raids don’t reduce harm—they force workers into isolated areas, away from safety tools like peer support and client screening. When you can’t openly talk about your work, you can’t call for help. And when you’re afraid to report an assault, your attacker knows they won’t face consequences. That’s not justice. That’s systemic abandonment. Meanwhile, housing safety for sex workers, the ability to live securely without fear of eviction or neighbor complaints is a basic need that’s routinely denied. Landlords evict sex workers under vague terms like "nuisance" or "unlawful activity," even when no crime occurred. Without stable housing, there’s no safe space to screen clients, store emergency tools, or recover from trauma.

The solution isn’t more policing. It’s decriminalization, community support, and access to tools that let sex workers protect themselves. From encrypted documentation apps to trusted networks that share client warnings, real safety comes from autonomy—not arrest. The posts below show how sex workers are building these systems themselves: how to document abuse without police, how to secure your home, how to navigate healthcare without shame, and how to fight eviction when your landlord tries to push you out. These aren’t theoretical guides. They’re survival tactics used every day by people who refuse to be silenced.