When sex workers experience gender-based violence, we face structural barriers to safety, support and justice. Stigma and criminalisation shape whether we report violence, whether we're believed, and whether we can access the services that are meant to help.
Sex worker victim-survivors frequently report experiencing stigma from mainstream family, domestic and sexual violence services, and face more scrutiny and questioning than other people seeking support.
Part of this traces back to second-wave feminist framings of sex work and pornography as forms of violence against women. This view still influences many anti-violence organisations today, with some leaders and researchers continuing to argue that sex work and pornography are incompatible with gender equality. This view also appears in policy and media debates about pornography and violence. This is one strand of a wider whore stigma that shapes how sex workers are treated across health, legal and support systems.
PUBLISHED APRIL 2026
ADVOCACY RESOURCE
This resource explores how stigma and criminalisation create barriers to safety, support and justice for sex workers, and what needs to change to strengthen responses to gender-based violence.
Criminalisation, licensing and policing all create barriers to reporting, accessing services and receiving justice. Sex workers are less likely to disclose violence when doing so risks legal consequences, and are often reluctant to pursue police reports or court action, anticipating disbelief, blame or unfair treatment.
These barriers compound for sex workers facing multiple forms of marginalisation, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sex workers, migrant and culturally and linguistically diverse sex workers, sex workers who use drugs, and sex workers with disability.
Our briefing papers take a closer look at the evidence, policy and public debates shaping responses to gender-based violence.
Learn about the structural barriers facing sex worker victim-survivors, the role of stigma and criminalisation, and what the evidence actually tells us about claims linking sex work and pornography to violence against women and girls.
Sex worker peer organisations are trusted first responders to gender-based violence, but are rarely funded to do this work.
Sex worker peer organisations, run by and for sex workers, respond directly to gender-based violence. Peer organisations provide on-site support, arranging transport to medical care or emergency accommodation, sex worker-friendly referrals, support navigating police reporting and court processes, education on consent and domestic violence protections, support with self-collection of early forensic samples, counselling and other peer support. Generally, we are not funded to do this work.
Sex worker peer organisations need sustainable and flexible funding to ensure we can continue to meet the needs of our communities and remain a trusted point of contact for sex worker victim-survivors.
We regularly share sex worker-led information about gender-based violence, safety, rights and the systems that shape our experiences. Explore our latest posts for community perspectives, mythbusting, advocacy updates and practical information about the issues affecting sex workers.
We regularly share sex worker-led information about gender-based violence, safety, rights and the systems that shape our experiences. Explore our latest posts for community perspectives, mythbusting, advocacy updates and practical information about the issues affecting sex workers.
Explore more of our writing and advocacy on gender-based violence and the issues affecting sex workers and our communities.
