1 Community Empowerment
Community systems strengthening is a mechanism to ensure meaningful participation of communityled organizations within the wider policy and programmatic systems of the state , and to address and resolve internal issues and conflicts . At the local level , this means sex worker organizations and networks participate as members on planning , funding and implementation committees and other relevant bodies , ensuring that the needs of the sex worker community are addressed . It may also mean that within a sex worker organization , or across a number of organizations , community-led structures are put in place to monitor , decide upon or otherwise address key issues of concern to the community . These may include violence-reduction strategies , allocation of community housing or functioning of community financial cooperatives .
Box 1.6
Strengthening management and organizational capacity
• Create a fair and transparent method for making decisions within the organization .
• Ensure that the process for carrying out and managing activities is participatory , transparent and has accountability .
• Establish a transparent operational system for managing human and financial resources .
• Sex workers should be in control of the planning , implementation and monitoring of the collective and its activities , including identifying indicators for monitoring .
• Support the growth of group membership and advancing of the group ’ s goals and objectives .
• Encourage cooperation and learning from other sex worker-led organizations and networks nationally and internationally .
To help achieve sustainability , it is important to invest time and resources into building leadership among sex workers through their involvement in trainings , conferences , project design , implementation , evaluation , research and fundraising activities , and their participation in the wider sex worker rights movement . ( See also Chapter 3 , Section 3.2.2 , part D .)
It is also essential to develop the organizational skills and capabilities of the collective as a whole . This may involve enhancing business and management skills among group members , strengthening leadership and management or developing resource mobilization activities ( Box 1.7 ). The guidance of allies and partners , as well as other sex worker-led organizations , may assist with the process .
Box 1.7
Case example : Generating income as a collective
Enhancing business and management skills among group members may lead to income-generating activities for the collective :
• Sex workers from Ashodaya Samithi in Mysore , India used World Bank funding to start a restaurant staffed by sex workers , which helps challenge the stigma and discrimination they face . Profits support a home-care programme for sex workers living with HIV .
• In Brazil , the sex worker organization Davida created its own fashion line , Dapsu , whose proceeds help fund the organization ’ s social , cultural and HIV prevention activities .
• In India , leaders of the Sonagachi Project registered a consumer cooperative to increase sex workers ’ economic security through access to credit and savings programmes , handicraft production , condom social marketing and evening child-care centres .
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