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Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association is the national peak sex worker organisation in Australia.

This website is maintained by volunteer sex worker skills, energy and passion! To keep up to date with us on social media, like our Facebook page or follow us on twitter!

To join Scarlet Alliance download the membership form or complete the NEW ON-LINE MEMBERSHIP FORM



Scarlet Alliance recognise Australia is a country built upon Aboriginal land, we pay our respect to the elders and custodians of this land, current, past and future, and stand in solidarity with the struggles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are a proud member of the Anwernekenhe National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV/AIDS Alliance (ANA).

What is the Full Decriminalisation of Sex Work?


This short briefing paper explains what full decriminalisation does and does not include and what sex workers want from sex work law reform. Translations of this briefing paper in Simplified Chinese, Korean and Thai will be available soon. You can access this resource at https://scarletalliance.org.au/library/briefing_paper_full_decrim

COVID-19 Impact and Response for Sex Workers


CLICK HERE for more information.

Emergency Support for Sex Workers


https://chuffed.org/project/sex-worker-support

Scarlet Alliance and our state and territory member organisations have joined together to create an ongoing fund to make your donations directly available to sex workers who need emergency financial relief in order to support them to stay safe, housed and fed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This fund is being overseen by sex worker organisations and run by sex worker organisation staff and volunteers across Australia. All money donated goes directly to sex workers in need.

As sex workers in each state and territory begin to return to work, the emergency fund will continue to provide support until COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted across the country. This fund will primarily focus on supporting sex workers who have not yet been able to return to work, particularly where COVID-19 restrictions remain in place and where sex workers are subject to penalties and fines.

For link to emergency fundraiser in SIMPLIFIED CHINESE CLICK HERE

For link to emergency fundraiser in TRADITIONAL CHINESE CLICK HERE

For link to emergency fundraiser in KOREAN CLICK HERE

For link to emergency fundraiser in THAI CLICK HERE

For link to emergency fundraiser in VIETNAMESE CLICK HERE

Release of NEW National BBV & STI Strategies


AIVL & Scarlet Alliance Joint Media Release ahead of World AIDS Day 1 December 2018 CLICK HERE for more information.

VALE Roberta Perkins


Scarlet Alliance and SWOP NSW mourn the passing of academic, researcher, author and trans and sex worker rights activist Roberta Perkins.
Roberta passed away yesterday afternoon 26th June, 2018. You can read more about her work and legacy HERE


Portrait of Roberta Perkins by Nada DeCat

My Health Record Information Brief for Sex Workers


My Health Record (MHR) is an electronic health record and the MHR system is a centralised database that retains all the MHRs. The MHR system has been around for more than five years as an opt-in system. On the 16 July 2018, MHR will move to an opt-out model with a three-month period to actively remove consent to prevent a MHR being created for you by default. Scarlet Alliance has created a briefing sheet for sex workers on MHR and the potential benefits and risks of a MHR for sex workers. CLICK HERE for more information.

Over 100 organisations support Statutes Amendment (Decriminalisation of Sex Work) Bill 2015


Organisations from around the world have signed a letter of support for the South Australian Statutes Amendment (Decriminalisation of Sex Work) Bill 2015 that is soon to be voted on. You can read the letter HERE

National Forum 13-15th Nov, 2018


We held a very successful 3 day National Forum on 13-15 November, 2018 in Meeanjin/Brisbane, Queensland. Presentations, workshops, discussion and consultation combined with member report backs and our AGM & election. Our membership elected a mix of experienced and new committee, representative & spokesperson & doubles for 2018-19. Our Symposium at Brisbane parliament house was sold out and speakers received a standing ovation from the crowd. Our celebration night brought together sex worker political/comedic performance, outstanding hip hop and our favourite DJ plus our acclaimed WOTY Award winners. click here

Each year the National Forum provides a fantastic opportunity for peers to network, share current information on trends and practices, participate in skill share workshops, inform Scarlet Alliance of state based issues affecting sex workers and be informed of Scarlet Alliance and our members’ activities. Our 2019 National Forum will be in Sydney.

Resourced and organised: achieving formal recognition of sex workers’ skills in Australia (SANTAP)


1st December, 2016: A new article has been published on the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers website, showcasing the the Scarlet Alliance National Training and Assessment Program (SANTAP).

"Over the past 15 years, Scarlet Alliance, the Australian Sex Worker Association, has developed and implemented an exciting and innovative national project that recognises the unique skills sex workers use while engaging in peer education within our communities and workspaces.

The Scarlet Alliance National Training and Assessment Program (SANTAP) contains both a learning tool and an assessment framework. The learning tool provides new or existing sex worker peer educators the required knowledge and grounding; and the assessment framework offers sex workers the opportunity to have our peer education and community mobilisation skills formally recognised. On completion of the multi-module assessment process, participants are awarded a nationally recognised diploma...."

Click to read full article (opens in new window)


SANTAP (Scarlet Alliance National Training and Assessment Project) Sex Worker Peer Educators graduating with Diplomas

Rose Alliance, Scarlet Alliance, ICW and INWUD Joint Submission: ‘Consultation seeking views on UN Women approach to sex work, the sex trade and prostitution’

We appreciate UN Women’s decision to clarify your approach to sex work, as clarity and focus on sex workers with UN Women could improve sex workers’ access to their human rights and lead to stronger more effective programming and support. However, we must express our deep concern with the purpose and process of UN Women’s “Consultation seeking views on UN Women approach to sex work, the sex trade and prostitution.” Not only has the specific process of consultation been flawed, the premise and framing of the consultation are extremely problematic and pose a threat to hard fought progress to secure the rights and well-being of all sex workers. We demand a transparent, supportive consultation process where sex workers are meaningfully involved.

AIVL, Scarlet Alliance, NAPWHA and AFAO Joint Media Release: Australian Communities Unite to Condemn the Mass Murder of People Who Use Drugs in the Philippines (13/10/2016)

Since May 2016, it has been reported that over 3,700 people suspected of using and/or selling drugs have been murdered in the Philippines. These atrocities has been carried out with the explicit endorsement of Filipino President, Rodrigo Duterte: who has repeatedly encouraged the police and the general public to kill people suspected of being drug users and/or of dealing drugs. The bloodshed has drawn condemnation from the international community, including from here in Australia.

AIVL and Scarlet Alliance Joint Media Release: For Some of Us, AIDS is Not Over (14/07/2016)

Recent media reports have focussed on announcements made by researchers, clinicians and some community representatives declaring that “AIDS, as a national public health issue, is over.” While it’s true that significant achievements have been made in HIV, the benefits of this have not been experienced by all people affected by the virus in the same way.

Transitional Funds from Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet ensure Tasmanian Sex Worker Project remains open

Scarlet Alliance is delighted and relieved to announce that the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPaC) have provided the Tasmanian Sex Worker Project with transitional funds in order that essential services may continue. We wish to extend our sincere and heartfelt thanks to the many sex workers, supporters, community organisations, state politicians and candidates and legal sector colleagues for their invaluable support that has ensured this positive outcome. We'd like to give special thanks to the Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman and staff at DPaC for stepping up to ensure sex workers in Tasmania are not left behind.

Decriminalisation Retained in NSW- Best Practice Model of Sex Work Industry Regulation


On the 9th of May, 2016 the NSW government published their response to the inquiry and reaffirmed their commitment and support for decriminalisation as a best practice and successful model of regulation of the sex industry. Scarlet Alliance, SWOP (Sex Worker Outreach Project NSW) and Touching Base issued a joint media statement welcoming the decision.

Scarlet Alliance CEO Jules Kim explained, “licensing and the re-introduction of police as regulators would have been a significant step backwards.” Touching Base President, Saul Ibister spoke of the relief they felt seeing, “the NSW Government take a sensible, evidence-based response.”

In their response, the government wrote:

“The NSW Government will continue its current body of work to examine the issues relating to the regulation of brothels, to ensure that any system meets community expectations, combats criminal activity and protects vulnerable individuals from exploitation. The NSW Government has considered the regulatory recommendations of the final report of the Select Committee's inquiry as part of this work, as well as evidence-based best practice internationally and domestically. However, the NSW Government will not be introducing the licensing model described by the final report of the Select Committee because reintroducing such significant regulatory burdens and police involvement risks creating similar outcomes to recriminalising sex work.”

Minister for Better Regulation, Victor Dominello said: “the evidence from other jurisdictions is that licensing simply doesn’t work.”

Scarlet Alliance CEO, Jules Kim Speaking at the UN General Assembly: Informal interactive hearing with representatives of civil society as part of the preparatory process for the High-level meeting on HIV/AIDS


You can view the video here. (Skip to 1 hour 56 minute mark to watch Jules speak)

APNSW Pacific Members Set Strategic Priorities


Five priorities that APNSW and Pacific members will work on over the next three years have now been published online.These priorities were the outcome of a meetimg held in Dhaka, Bangladesh with representatives from Friends Frangipani (Papua New Guinea), New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC), Survivors Advocacy Network (SAN-Fiji), Scarlet Alliance (Australia) and $carlet Timor Collective (Timor-Leste).

This follows on from a meeting earlier in 2015 where Sex Worker leaders from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia gathered in Sydney for the first planning meeting to form The Pacific Sex Worker Network. Other Pacific countries are encouraged to join. We are working toward a common goal of better representation of Pacific sex workers, and achieving decriminalisation of sex work in the Pacific. Downloadable PDF statement

New Reports on our publications page

Go straight to downloads

• Stepping up the Evidence on HIV and Sex Work: Decriminalise Sex Work Now! Sex Workers at AIDS 2014 Downloadable here
• Key Issues: Sex Worker Policy Issues in Australia - a briefing sheet from our National Forum 2014 Downloadable here

Attention Sex Worker Peer Educators!

Find out more about the Scarlet Alliance National Training and Assessment Program. The program has two parts - a self paced Peer Educator Online Learning process for new Peer Educators and a Diploma of Community Development assessment process for those with at least twelve months sex worker Peer Education experience. Find out more here.

Have you seen Scarlet Alliance's key policy document drawing together research and information to inform sex work policy development in Australia?

Downloadable here

The Principles for Model Sex Work Legislation brings together current research and information across nine comprehensive chapters covering everything you need to know about sex work policy and regulation. update is the result of sex worker community consultation, is produced by sex workers and includes quotes and content that ensure sex worker voices are heard in policy development considerations. Chapters include: • Addressing myths and stereotypes about sex work
• Decriminalisation is the optimal model for sex work legislation
• Industrial rights and occupational health and safety
• Health promotion and peer education
• Sexually transmissible infections and HIV testing and criminalisation
• Human rights and anti-discrimination protection
• Migration, mobility and freedom of movement
• Local planning and sex industry businesses
• Sex workers as experts: Consultation, inclusion and self-determination.

Each chapter is accompanied by a printable fact sheet with a summary of the issues and recommendations for reform.

Newly updated pages on the Scarlet Alliance website

Are you a sex worker?

Are you a sex worker wanting to increase your sex worker social networks, know where to go for services, get information about your rights and responsibilities as a sex worker, get an Ugly Mugs update or access peer support? Contact your local sex worker organisation.There is a sex worker organisation or project in each state and territory of Australia. Peer Educators provide information with the knowledge and experience of having worked as a sex worker.

Translated information section of this website now live. Available in Thai, Chinese and Korean

South Australian Law Reform- Decriminalisation Bill due to be introduced in 2015

MEDIA: Rally held at Parliament House 5th June,2014. Many local South Australian sex workers including representatives from SIN, SWAGGER and Scarlet Alliance rallied in support of the pure decriminalisation bill.


Sex workers gather at Parliament House International, Adelaide

Sex work is currently criminalised in South Australia under laws contained in the Summary Offences Act 1953 and the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935. Currently sex workers in South Australia work in fear of the police, without industrial or OH&S protections and are often forced to prioritise avoiding detection over utilising safety strategies.

In December 2014 a private members bill was introduced to the House of Assembly, by the Hon Stephanie Key, Member for Ashford, which seeks to decriminalise all forms of sex work, include sex work in anti discrimination protections and ensure existing sex work related convictions are wiped from peoples records. Join the FB group https://www.facebook.com/decriminalisesa to keep up to date and find out how ways you can get involved in supporting Decriminalisation in South Australia!

Campaign in Western Australia

People for Sex Worker Rights in WA | Promote Your Page Too

You may have heard about the ongoing debacle of law reform in Western Australia. First the ALP introduced licensing, which failed. Then the ALP introduced Decriminalisation, which was blocked post-election by the state Governor. Now the Liberals want to re-introduce the ALP licensing bill. Sex workers have been denied a fair say in WA about the law reform changes we would prefer. During the first ALP law reform campaign, which saw a licensing bill fail, the sex worker organisation (Phoenix) was undermined and lost its peer staff. WA no longer has a funded peer organisation. To contact the sex worker volunteers who are the voice of the movement in WA, join their face book group (left).

WATCH Scarlet Alliance CEO Janelle Fawkes explain the role of Peer Education in HIV prevention

HIV IS A VIRUS NOT A CRIME - jailing sex workers living with HIV is a travesty of human rights. The recent arrest of a Melbourne sex worker living with HIV is against all good health policy and is not supported by evidence regarding HIV transmission in Australia

updated February 4 2016