Sex Work Donor Collaborative Strategic Plan 2021-2025
Background
The Sex Work Donor Collaborative was originally formed under the name of the Donor-Activist Collaboration for the Advancement of the Human Rights of Sex Workers and was convened during a donor dialogue hosted in 2008 by Open Society Foundations, the Global Network of Sex Work Projects and CREA in response to the lack of funding for sex workers' rights groups. One of the key outcomes of the donor-activist collaboration was the creation of Red Umbrella Fund, the first and only global fund led by and for sex workers, founded in 2012. Many of the members of this collaboration were and continue to be donors to Red Umbrella Fund.
However, resourcing of the sex workers’ rights movement remains unacceptably low at less than 1% of all global human rights funding.
Members of the donor-activist collaboration identified the continued need for donor-to-donor advocacy that could increase the amount of funds to support the movement. With this need in mind, the collaborative was reconvened in February of 2017. Additional outreach by a core membership resulted in an agreed statement of mission and values, and a structure to guide the work. In 2018, 17 funders signed onto this mission, joined the new Sex Work Donor Collaborative and elected a steering committee.
In 2020, the SWDC decided it was time for a more aligned strategy to further advance its work and decided to develop its first strategic plan to be implemented from 2021 to 2025.
For this Strategic Planning, the SWDC understands the sex workers’ rights movement as defined in Red Umbrella Fund. The global sex workers’ rights movement is a collective term reflecting a diversity of movements, networks, groups and individual sex workers’ rights activists around the world. What sex worker activists have in common is a focus on collaborative action to challenge criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of sex workers of all genders and identities and to advance the human rights of sex workers.
Vision
We envision a world in which the sex workers’ rights movement are fully resourced, in which sex workers have a strong voice in the decisions that impact their lives (funding, local/national/international policy, etc), and in which sex workers’ rights and other movements are in solidarity to create a more just world.
Mission
The primary mission of the Sex Worker Donor Collaborative is to increase the amount and quality of funding and non-financial support for sex workers’ rights and sex workers’ organizing.
Values
Members of this Collaborative agree to uphold these values in the work of the Collaborative:
We recognise the self-determination of sex workers.
We recognise the importance of the inclusion of sex workers in the design, implementation and evaluation of programs and other initiatives, including the Sex Worker Donor Collaborative, that affect their lives and work.
We oppose the criminalisation of, and all other forms of stigma and discrimination against, sex work and sex workers.
We recognise that sex work is work and that sex workers are entitled to the same rights as other workers, including the right to self-organize.
We recognize the diversity of sex workers and strive towards solutions that include and benefit sex workers oppressed because of their race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexuality, national origin, age, nationality, migration status, dis/ability, and other identities.
We oppose all forms of exploitation of and violence against sex workers and recognize the distinction between sex work and human trafficking.
Goals
1. Mobilize more (amount) and better (quality) funding for sex workers’ rights and sex workers’ organizing through donor mapping, education and influencing. Better funding enables sex workers to strengthen their organizations and networks, is responsive to the sex workers’ rights movement priorities, is flexible, sustained, long-term, rights-affirming, and is accessible to sex workers.
2. Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of funding for the sex workers’ rights movement through peer sharing, research and strategic coordination of grant making, where appropriate.
3. Provide a platform where sex workers and donors can share information and learning and where sex workers can engage donors as allies in their political advocacy efforts.
Objectives
1a. Contribute to improving the tracking of funding for sex workers’ rights for greater knowledge for more (amount) and better (quality) funding for sex workers’ rights and sex workers’ organizing
1b. More donors join the Sex Work Donor Collaborative and/or improve their practices for more (amount) and better (quality) funding for sex workers’ rights and sex workers’ organizing
1c. Empower our members to engage in advocacy for more (amount) and better (quality) funding for sex workers’ rights and sex workers’ organizing
2a. Create spaces and opportunities for members to strengthen knowledge and share learnings and challenges to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of funding for the sex workers’ rights movement
2b. Create spaces with sex workers and (external) funders to discuss best-practices to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of funding for the sex workers’ rights movement
2c. Produce new knowledge to sustain the advocacy to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of funding for the sex workers’ rights movement
3a. Ensure that sex worker leaders participate in all of SWDC’s public activities and are fairly compensated for their work.
3b. Increase transparency with and invite input from the sex workers’s rights movement through our platforms and activities
3c. Provide opportunities for the sex workers’ rights movement to increase its knowledge and advocacy skills on funding for sex workers’ rights and sex workers’ organizing
Operationalization
The sex work donor collaborative will work towards achieving its three goals. In order to do that, it is organized in three working groups and some of that work is carried out by the SWDC coordinator:
Donor Advocacy (which holds the goal and objectives under number 1),
Research & Knowledge Generation (which holds goal 2 and its objectives) and
Learning & Engagement with Sex Workers (which holds goal 3 and its objectives).
Although we recognized that the goals are interconnected the aim of this division is to better coordinate the work towards each of the goals.
The role of the steering committee will be to perform the global operation of the Collaborative, facilitate the overall alignment of the three working groups as well as network strengthening and membership with the support from the coordinator. In the next five years, the Steering Committee aims to increase the coordination and efficiency capacity of the collaborative. The steering committee members will divide themselves among the three working groups to ensure that the SC has access to the discussions being held and is capable of ensuring the connections between the different pieces of work in the Collaborative.