ASWA Marks Sex Worker Pride Day 2026
On 14 September, sex workers across Africa and around the world marked Sex Worker Pride Day.
First marked in 2019, Sex Worker Pride Day is an opportunity to celebrate sex workers, our communities and the movement we have built, while also recognising the work that still needs to be done to ensure that we sex workers can live and work safely, freely and with dignity.
A message from the ASWA Regional Coordinator
Reflecting on the day and the strength of our sex worker movement across Africa, ASWA Regional Coordinator Grace Kamau shared:
“When I look across our movement in Africa, I see so much to be proud of.
We organise, lead, support one another and refuse to be left out of decisions that affect our lives.
Our pride is in who we are, in our strength and in the way we continue to stand together. We will keep calling for the decriminalisation of sex work and for an end to the violence, stigma and discrimination we face.
We deserve to live and work safely, freely and with dignity.
That is our strength, and that is our pride”
— Grace Kamau, Regional Coordinator, ASWA
Pride also means demanding change
While Pride Day is a celebration, it is also a reminder of the realities many sex workers continue to face.
Criminalisation, violence, stigma and discrimination remain part of the everyday reality for many sex workers across Africa. These challenges can make it harder to report violence, access justice and healthcare, organise freely or participate in decisions that directly affect our lives.
This is why ASWA continues to call for the decriminalisation of sex work and for laws and policies that recognise and protect the rights of sex workers.
Decriminalisation matters because sex workers should be able to report violence without fear, access healthcare without being judged, organise and support one another, and live and work without being treated as criminals.
Our bodies, our choices
Sex Worker Pride is also about being able to make decisions about our own bodies and lives.
Sex workers have the right to make informed choices about our sexual and reproductive health. This includes access to contraception, HIV prevention options, sexual and reproductive health services, accurate information and respectful healthcare without stigma or discrimination.
Our choices should be respected, and our voices should be part of decisions that affect our health, rights and lives.
Celebrating our movement
Sex Worker Pride Day gives us a chance to recognise how much sex worker communities across Africa have built over the years.
Our movement exists because sex workers continue to organise, share knowledge, support one another, challenge injustice and demand to be heard.
There is still a long way to go, particularly in ending criminalisation, violence, stigma and discrimination. But there is also a lot to be proud of.
This Sex Worker Pride Day, we celebrate sex workers across Africa and the work being done every day in our communities. We celebrate our voices, our leadership and the progress we continue to make together.
We also continue pushing for an Africa where sex workers can live and work with dignity, safety and freedom.
Happy Sex Worker Pride Day!
Nothing about us without us!
