SWASA Busyness
SWASA | Year in Review: Looking back, Moving Forward
In Brief:
In 2025, SWASA’s efforts to further sex workers’ rights in South Asia was strongly connected to global platforms beginning with our engagement at the 90th Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) held in Geneva, Switzerland in February 2025. Building on this global momentum, our country chapters (in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) continued their efforts to strengthen and amplify sex workers’ voices across their countries and the region, while forging alliances with trade unions, women’s rights movements, and LGBTQIA+ movements. Regionally, SWASA’s strategic planning strengthened collective action to mark a year of resilience, dignity, and progress toward labour rights and social security for sex workers.
Sex Workers and Allies South Asia-SWASA at AWID Forum 2024
From December 2-5, 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand, Sex Workers and Allies South Asia (SWASA) hosted Sex Workers’ Conversations with Feminist Allies at the AWID Forum 2024. This dynamic space provided an opportunity for feminists from across the world to visit the SWASA Lounge, engaging in lively discussions about sexuality, decriminalization demand, the intersection of feminism and sex work, cultural and religious perspectives, and the broader themes of women, work, and sex work.
SWASA Village @ Renew
The SWASA Village, held during the @Renew: South Asia Sex Workers Summit by CREA from 29 to 31 May 2024, at Arboretum Park, Park Village Resort, served as a crucial platform for advocacy for Sex Workers and Allies South Asia (SWASA). The village brought together grassroots activists to engage in meaningful discussions, share experiences, and form lasting connections. Over the three-day event, a total of 300 participants visited the village.
The primary objectives of the SWASA Village were to advocate for the rights of sex workers, provide updates on relevant developments, and foster a sense of solidarity among participants. The themed sessions at the SWASA Village, covering “Sex Work University,” “River of Submissions,” and “Cross-movement Adda”, along with the all-day Mandi (marketplace) and Village Plaza, contributed to a dynamic and engaging environment. These activities facilitated focused conversations and strengthened the community’s network, achieving the village’s advocacy and community-building goals.
SWASA at World Social Forum, 2024
Society controls sexuality and sexual expression in many ways, particularly the sexual and reproductive rights of women and persons from diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Heterosexual people are also affected by these controls. The state, family, community, caste, and clan play a central role in controlling sexuality. The market economy also controls sexuality.
The silence around sexuality has been broken with the spread of the HIV epidemic. Sexual minorities, sex workers and people living with HIV have been pushed to the margins by a society that has condemned their very existence. According to a 2020 UNAIDS report, 92 countries said that they criminalized HIV non-disclosure, exposure, and transmission through either specific or general laws. Such laws are counterproductive because they undermine efforts to prevent new HIV infections. The HIV epidemic has forced societies to acknowledge and confront the complex world of people who are in monogamous relationships within and outside marriage, as well as people who are in multiple sex partnerships within both commercial and non-commercial contexts.