National Forum 2025

COVID-19 is still circulating in the community and can have devastating impacts to our communities, particularly those with pre-existing and/or chronic health conditions.

All attendees are required to test for COVID-19 each day, prior to entering the venue. We will be asking attendees to show a photo of a negative RAT prior to entering the venue each day. We kindly ask for attendees to obtain their own RAT for use on day 1, and we will have tests on-site for attendees to take and use for days 2 and 3.

We enourage attendees to wear N95 masks or similar, and will have masks on-site for use.

This year’s venue is a conference centre and will include main room, 3 breakout rooms, an outside area, a quiet room, kitchen and is wheelchair accessible. We will provide a floor plan and full venue information to confirmed registrants. If you need further venue information in order to determine if you are able to attend, please contact us at info@scarletalliance.org.au.

Connecting with Your Inner Creature
An intimate and playful dive into pet play, this session blends mindful movement, community connection and a celebration of kink in a safe and welcoming space. A short yoga warm-up (with optional poppers) helps participants connect to their bodies. Then it’s time to learn how to access ‘pet space’, a headspace rooted in curiosity, joy and freedom. This session is relaxed and interactive and will offer time for networking, questions and photo opportunities.

Soft, Hard, and Everything in Between: Boundaries in Sex Work
How do we take practical care of boundaries in a sex work context? This session will offer somatic practices to explore how to deepen the felt sense of one’s own boundaries and how to look after yourself and your body at work, even when we’d really rather be on the couch at home. This is a skillshare so there will be opportunities for discussion, sharing, and learning from others. We intend to celebrate all the creative and even sneaky ways in which we look after ourselves while getting the job done! All activities offered in this session are optional.

The Mindful Consent Model – Improve Your Consent Negotiation
Participants will define consent and discuss it from an intersectional perspective. Discuss what consent does/doesn’t look like and unpack it in a sex work context. There will also be a chance to discuss red flags, harm minimisation strategies, and do a short embodiment exercise using the model.

Where’s my Horny?: Reconnecting with personal desire as a Sex Worker
This is a trauma-informed workshop for sex wokers that explores how sex work can shape, suppress, or distance us from pleasure and desire. Blending discussion, reflection, and embodiment exercises, this session offers practical tools—guided thought experiments, group collaboration, writing prompts, and movement—to help participants reconnect with their own sensations and needs. Participants will leave with strategies to ground and regulate, re-engage with their bodies, and rediscover desire both within and beyond work. this workshop draws on The Midnight Method coaching program and lived expertise. It offers space for peers to reflect, connect, and reclaim pleasure on their own terms.

Health Justice Partnerships and How They Can Benefit Our Community
Presented by representatives of SWOP NSW, The Kirketon Road Centre and The Inner City Legal Centre, this presentation explores the value of building strong partnerships between legal, health, and advocacy organisations to achieve better outcomes for the sex worker community. Too often, sex workers facing complex issues—such as employment issues, housing insecurity, or discrimination—encounter barriers when services operate in isolation. By working together, organisations can provide wraparound support that addresses the needs of the sex worker community holistically. Drawing on case examples, it demonstrates how shared expertise and coordinated responses reduce duplication, fill service gaps, and empower individuals to navigate systems with dignity and support. Attendees will gain practical insights into models of collaboration and learn how to foster stronger networks that make a lasting difference in people’s lives.

Training to Connect: A Consultation Session
Scarlet Alliance is reviewing and re-imagining our national training program — and your input is essential. This one-hour consultation will explore what makes training meaningful, accessible, and relevant to everyone in our community. , Participants will work together to explore motivations for training, barriers to participation, and the kinds of topics that matter most, from practical skills to movement history and values. We’ll also think beyond the room: what would training need to look and feel like to reach sex workers not already connected to organisations? Using a mix of group brainstorms, creative reflections, and prioritisation activities, participants will generate concrete ideas and strategies that will feed directly into the next stage of program design.

Culturally Safe Outreach Practices: Working with CALD Sex Worker Communities
This interactive workshop draws on the lived experience and peer expertise of outreach workers engaging with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) sex workers in New South Wales. NSW’s decriminalisation framework has enabled peer-led organisations such as SWOP NSW to develop strong outreach programs that prioritise cultural safety and community connection. Participants will explore three key areas: applying intersectionality and cultural safety in outreach, strengthening communication skills across diverse language and cultural contexts, and delivering effective peer education in workplace settings. Each section will conclude with collaborative discussions to share skills, reflect on challenges, and identify practical solutions.