LGBT Sex Workers in the CEECA Region – An Overview
The lives of LGBTQ sex workers in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia are impacted by many hardships, including precarious living conditions, various forms and levels of criminalisation and discrimination as well as violence and human rights violations. As a vulnerable group within an already marginalised community, LGBTQ sex workers live their lives at the intersection of two overlapping identities. However, this community receive little, if any, attention from policymakers, civil society and funders. Transgender sex workers and men who have sex with other men (MSM) sex workers are also often forgotten in the response to the HIV epidemic and inadequately served.
This briefing paper developed by SWAN aims to fill the gap in knowledge about LGBTQ sex workers in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The scope of this briefing paper does not allow for a full analysis of discourses, attitudes, laws, policies and practices impacting LGBTQ sex workers, but rather aims to provide a general overview of key issues and trends as documented by SWAN members and NGOs working in the fields
of LGBTQ rights, human rights, gender equality and sexual health/HIV.