Introductory sentence on your organisation:
The Guyana Sex Work Coalition (GSWC) is a non- profit, non- governmental organisation that was established on the 11th October, 2008. The GSWC is one of the first established sex worker-led organisations in the Caribbean.
Tell us about your organisation
Vision
Empowering and Organising Sex Workers towards Achieving and Maintaining Progressive Self- Development and Increased HIV Preventative Actions.
Mission Statement
GSWC’s main goals are to improve the quality of life of sex workers and to ensure that their rights are recognised and upheld in all domains. We empower sex workers to advocate for their human rights within the larger society, and recognition of their inherent dignity as human beings. We also work for the elimination of all violence, prejudice, discrimination and other negative and adverse conduct directed towards sex workers.
The objectives of the GSWC include:
- Improve the well-being and quality of life of Sex Workers including women and girls through services, education, information, communication, human rights, integrated care and social and economic development opportunities;
- Facilitate individuals’ access to voluntary counselling and testing services;
- Provide risk assessment and risk reduction counselling to individuals to reduce their risk and vulnerability to HIV;
- To organise HIV awareness and education programmes that lead to behavioural change in Guyana;
- Provide integrated counselling to individuals to enable them to cope with life’s challenges;
- To provide guidance and voluntary support services to persons living with and affected by HIV;
- Facilitate individuals’ development in vocational and life skills to enable them to survive in today’s world;
- To mobilise resources necessary to sustain the work of the organisation;
- To facilitate the growth and development of the membership and staff of the organisation.
What is the history of the organisation? How and why was it formed?
The GSWC was officially registered on the 16th March, 2011. It had its genesis in a sex worker led mapping exercise by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) out of Jamaica. This initial meeting brought together 21 female sex workers from 7 of the 10 administrative regions of Guyana.
The GSWC is one of the first established sex worker-led organisations in the Caribbean. In Guyana, GSWC is the first organisation which started to work with sex workers. The initial activities were focused primarily on HIV awareness, prevention and treatment and care. As the years progressed, GSWC has extended its activities to focus on human rights awareness and advocacy for sex workers, representation of sex workers’ human rights and capacity building of sex workers. Sex workers, People living with HIV, Women and girls living with HIV, Young people living with HIV are the main beneficiaries of GSWC.
During the time that the GSWC has been in existence, the activities completed has proven to be quite successful and has led many other organisations to take patter as best practices. The GSWC is recognised as one of the leading organisations in Guyana and the Caribbean fighting for the human rights of sex workers.