back to Chapter Five Contents

What is OSI’s work in the area of sexual health and human rights for LGBT and sex workers?

OSI’s work in sexual health and human rights focuses on the human rights of socially marginalized groups—particularly sex workers and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons—in relation to HIV and AIDS. The main Network Program supporting work in this area is the Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP).

OSI also supports LGBT rights through the Human Rights and Governance Grants Program (HRGGP), which provides funding to groups combating discrimination against the LGBT community in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.  HRGGP support has helped groups to decriminalize homosexuality, document and legally challenge rights abuses, and monitor the extent to which states are effectively implementing domestic and international non-discrimination standards. In addition, HRGGP provides support to a number of efforts promoting reproductive rights through a combination of litigation and advocacy in Central and Southeastern Europe.

Some examples of projects supported by SHARP include:

• Reports
  • A regional report on barriers to sex workers’ human rights by the Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network, 2005.
  • Support for ground-breaking reports on the health of LGBT people in Central and Eastern Europe and sex workers, LGBT and MSM in Thailand
• Convening
  • “Fostering Enabling Legal Environments for Sex Workers’ Health and Human Rights”, a global meeting in June 2006 to articulate a global vision for human rights approaches to sex workers’ health.
  • Support for a European Conference on the Rights of Sex Workers, which adopted a Manifesto and Declaration on the Rights of Sex Workers.
• Training
  • A week-long training and hands-on advocacy workshop at the African Commission of Human and Peoples Rights, Banjul for self-identified LGBT rights advocates and their allies, May 2006.
• Networking
  • Networking, community building sessions, and venues for people in sex work and LGBT advocates at the 2006 International AIDS Conference (IAC), including a regular conference digest, “IAC in SHARP Focus.”
  • A coalition-building project to support allies in sex work, women’s rights, health and human rights working together to educate media and policy makers globally and in US foreign policy and funding

back to Chapter Five Contents

next section