Helping the children of sex workers

Cece Yara Child Advocacy Centre Foundation provides comprehensive care, protection and legal assistance to youth who suffered sexual abuse or are at risk. So far, they’ve helped reach eight convictions and have about 57 ongoing cases. The Foundation also emphasizes the importance of psychotherapy and education, empowering youth to learn about personal safety, boundaries and age-appropriate sex education in an effort to prevent reoccurring abuse.

In an effort to protect Thai massage therapists from sexual harassment and assautl, the Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Centers partnered with R-A-W Power to deliver self-defense training at Hollywood Career College, teaching 34 massage therapists physical techniques and boundary-setting skills to handle inappropriate client behavior during sessions. Beyond self-defense, other community organizations are also providing education, legal advocacy and working on policy reform efforts to further protect workers.

The Hello Lagos! youth center provides a safe space for youth, particularly those experiencing teenage pregnancies, issues around sexual reproductive health, substance abuse and anything else that gets in the way of youth having a healthy lifestyle. One of the Center’s program, the young moms clinic, has led to a 20% decrease in teen pregnancy and 15% of those in the program have returned to school.

Support and counseling from trusted volunteers empowers young women to stay in school and out of child marriage. In Nepal, the Sisters for Sisters program was the result of a governmental effort to reduce child marriages. Volunteers, many of whom were child brides themselves, help fight stigma and cultural pressures by leading discussions with young women on topics like sexual health and life choices.

A program called RAPP (Relationship Abuse Prevention Program) uses safe spaces for teens to talk about their romantic relationships with both peer and adult leaders as a way to prevent abusive relationships through education. It is supported by New York City's Human Resources Administration, the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, Day One, and Steps to End Violence and Urban Resource Institute (URI). The program is now in 94 schools across the city, and participants / peer leaders testify to how much it changed their lives.

At the University of Virginia, the all-male peer education group One in Four works to create new standards surrounding sexual violence against women.

Chalk Back is a youth-led street art initiative that encourages women to write sexist remarks said to them onto pavements in chalk to raise awareness about street harassment. The public art is then shared on Instagram to further its reach and prevent street harassment from being normalized. Since Chalk Back started in 2016, it has become a global initiative with more than 1,000 women participating and more than 150,000 followers on social media.

Boys Without Borders provides boys who experienced sexual abuse with a support system and educational resources to help them overcome social and mental health issues they may be facing. With the group’s 65 student volunteers, they have helped more than 2,500 boys since launching in 2020.

The Women Against Violations and Exploitation (WAVE) Foundation and The Daisy Network provides support for female genital mutilation (FGM) survivors and works to put an end to FGM across the country. The Daisy Network has spread to several states and has reached more than 3,000 people through their advocacy efforts.

Making sex work a legal, recognized profession allows sex workers to conduct business in a much safer way. The decriminalization of sex work has also helped to strengthen relationships between sex workers and law enforcement, ensuring they have someone to call upon in emergencies. There are also now clinics, like the New Zealand Sex Workers’ Collective, which provides specialized care to sex workers.