In 2007, I had the great honour of being asked by the Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) of the Open Society Institute (OSI) to work for SWAN. At my first SWAN meeting, in Kiev in the spring of 2007, I began interviewing sex workers from around the region about their experiences; the injustices they were facing, the nascent movements they were building, and the every day reality of being a sex worker.

In 2007, I had the great honour of being asked by the Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) of the Open Society Institute (OSI) to work for SWAN. At my first SWAN meeting, in Kiev in the spring of 2007, I began interviewing sex workers from around the region about their experiences; the injustices they were facing, the nascent movements they were building, and the every day reality of being a sex worker.

Since then, these interviews have appeared on a regular basis in SWAN News’ Sex Worker Report column. I hope that as a reader, you will feel as I did, a privileged witness to the incredible courage, compassion and tenacity of the men, women and trans sex workers in SWAN. I hope too, that as you read their stories, you will become a steadfast ally in their struggle for sex workers’ rights. To help you understand the issues, we have included “The Curious Sex Worker Guides”, a series I wrote for SWAN News to try and explain some of the debates, issues and occasionally, amusing trivia about sex work.

And finally, some information on SWAN so that you can become better acquainted with us.

Anna-Louise Crago

The resource is available here.