Female, Male and Transgender Sex Workers, Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS

Sex work is a nonjudgmental term that connotes the sale or exchange of consensual sexual services between adults. As it is work, sex work should be considered through a labor rights framework. Specific labor rights language is outlined in the “International Labour Organization (ILO) Recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work” (No. 200). The Recommendation promotes fair and safe working conditions for all workers, including sex workers, working under all forms or arrangements at all workplace types in both the formal and informal sectors (International Labour Office 2010). It also seeks to ensure universal access to stigma-free HIV prevention, treatment and care services among all workers, and the full protection of the human and labor rights of all people living with HIV in the workplace.