Sex Work & Reproductive Justice
Cover of a report about sex workers as active stakeholders for reproductive justice and services.
In 2023 New Moon received a $60,000 grant from the Abortion Bridge Collaborative (ABC) to support our grantee partners engaged in reproductive justice advocacy and direct services work. We disbursed this grant to seven sex worker-led organizations serving people in the sex trade .
Read our Abortion Bridge Collaborative (ABC) Grant Report
Today we are releasing a report documenting sex workers and survivors of exploitation working to advance reproductive justice and offer reproductive health services.
New Moon prioritized re-granting to vetted partners who have demonstrated consistency and proximity to community.
Recipients & Regions Served:
SWOP Behind Bars - FL / LA / National
Rouge Support Network - GA / CO / NY
Pelvic Sanctuary - CA / National
SWAID - NV / National
MoHo Justice - MO
SWEET - TX
New Moon asked re-granting recipients of ABC funding what obstacles their sex worker communities were facing to accessing reproductive care and information.
Barriers to accessing reproductive care included:
Restrictions on abortion access
Faith-based funding disallowing condom distribution
Faith-based hospitals unwilling to provide care
Lack of sexual education & accurate information
Lack of access to STD/STI testing
Transportation barriers
Language barriers
Lack of access to affordable care
Discrimination against trans and non-binary individuals
Discrimination against sex workers
In response to community need, New Moon’s
re-granting recipients engaged in the following:
Direct Services:
Transportation assistance - 80%
Providing condoms & Plan B - 80%
Cash Assistance to Access Care - 80%
Peer Support - 60%
Sharing abortion access info - 60%
Sex & sexual health education - 60%
Referrals to care providers - 40%
Operating a clinic - 10%
Sex worker competency training - 10%
Advocacy:
Coalition organizing - 100%
Media engagement - 80%
Policy advocacy - 50%
At New Moon Network we have provided funding to 70+ sex worker and survivor led groups in the US. We know that
these groups are usually volunteer-run, diverse, and operating on budgets of less than $100,000 annually. We know
that sex workers and survivors of exploitation are working together, and that many leaders possess both experiences.
The groups selected to receive funding from the ABC grant via New Moon reflect the broader movement for sex
workers rights in the US.
Average Annual Budget: $74,000
Leadership Demographics:
Current or former sex worker - 100%
Survivor of sex trafficking - 80%
Cis-gendered women - 80%
Trans, GNC, non-binary, two-spirit - 80%
Formerly unhoused - 80%
BIPOC - 60%
Living with a disability - 40%
Formerly incarcerated - 40%
We are immensely thankful to the Granting Advisory Council at the ABC for recognizing sex workers as valuable contributors to our shared cause of bodily autonomy and accessible health care for all. Sex workers always have and always will be central to movements for reproductive justice, and we welcome continued dialog and collaboration in the future.
