Stories of Change: Sex Workers are Pushing Nepal’s Decision-Makers Toward Responsibility
In Nepal, female and transgender sex workers continue to endure persistent violence, discrimination, and political invisibility. Their experiences seldom reach the spaces where laws are debated and decided, leaving a profound gap between the protection guaranteed by human rights frameworks and the realities of everyday life. Against this, KIOS grantee FAITH has chosen a path centred on direct political engagement and advancing women’s rights in an intersectional way. FAITH is ensuring that sex workers themselves stand before those who hold power, presenting their own evidence and demanding their own rights. Just last year, a remarkable 57 out of 97 approached individuals signed written commitments in support of the human rights of sex workers and sex worker‑inclusive anti‑GBV policies.
A Women-Led Organisation Shaped by Lived Experience
Friends Affected and Infected Together in Hand (FAITH), a women-led, non-profit organisation established in 2005, works with socially marginalised groups including women living with HIV, female and transgender sex workers, and women who use drugs. It emerged at a time when people living with HIV faced medical neglect, pervasive stigma, and a political system unwilling to respond. Supported by international partners, affected communities across Nepal began organising, creating networks and associations led by people confronting these challenges directly.
From the beginning, FAITH aligned itself with this grassroots momentum. While building supportive environments for those affected, it prioritised political advocacy aimed at transforming the systems that shaped their lives. Since 2015, FAITH has operated formally as a women-led organisation and expanded its work to adolescents and women living with HIV, sex workers, and women who use drugs. As years passed, the organisation is supporting a broader range of marginalised groups, including members of indigenous and Dalit communities, people with disabilities, and individuals isolated by geography or politics. Collaborations with community-based, beneficiary-led organisations continue to deepen FAITH’s understanding of how rights-holders can influence governance.
Living With Stigma: How Systems Fail Sex Workers
Sex workers in Nepal continue to face profound stigma that shapes both public attitudes and institutional behaviour. Their work is widely viewed as immoral or shameful, and this moral judgment is mirrored in the systems meant to protect citizens. When stigma becomes embedded in institutions, violence and harassment are not treated as violations but as matters that can be ignored.
As Reena Lama, human rights defender and FAITH’s Executive Director, noted in an earlier interview, advocacy for sex workers’ human rights is met with political evasion and policing practices that prioritise control over protection. Even politicians who champion women’s rights often avoid discussing sex work, treating it as an issue that should remain unspoken. The broader system enables corruption, allowing some police officers to extract bribes from clients rather than upholding justice. In the end, no one benefits from this cycle of impunity except those who exploit it; sex workers, meanwhile, are left increasingly vulnerable and unprotected.
Building a Collective Political Voice: The Advocacy Task Force
At the core of FAITH’s advocacy is a sex worker-led advocacy task force, for which FAITH serves as the secretariat. This task force brings together organisations from the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley, all led by sex workers themselves. Its mission is straightforward but powerful: ensure that those most affected by discrimination speak directly to the decision-makers capable of addressing it. And that decision-makers shift from sympathetic observers to accountable actors.
To make this possible, FAITH prepares task force members with detailed briefing notes, clear strategic messages, and tailored materials for meetings. Six organisations conduct scheduled visits to ministers, parliamentarians, and institutional leaders. During each visit, they present memoranda outlining the violence sex workers face and ask stakeholders to sign written commitments pledging to uphold sex workers’ human rights.
As one member of the advocacy task force shared that through the task force, they’ve been able to participate in dialogues with policymakers, where they’ve been able to present their lived realities and demand equal treatment under the law.
Before this project, we were spoken about but never spoken to. Today, we are no longer invisible in policy discussions. Our voices are influencing national anti-discrimination commitments, which is a meaningful step toward dignity and equality.
– Advocacy task force member and sex worker
Tangible Political Engagement
These efforts produced substantial results during the grant period. A total of 236 female and transgender sex workers from six districts participated in an assessment of political awareness and electoral participation, strengthening the foundation for long-term civic involvement. Additionally, 444 sex workers across 17 districts received orientation on their rights, reinforcing community capacity to advocate for change.
With direct political advocacy, FAITH met with a total of 97 parliamentarians and key stakeholders. The advocacy task force delivered memoranda to representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs, as well as to the Deputy Speaker of the House, 72 parliamentarians, three prominent political figures, nine national commissions, and parliamentary staff.
I commend the comprehensive documentation you’ve prepared—I’ve reviewed all the materials carefully. While this issue falls outside my direct mandate, I believe it deserves serious parliamentary discussion and action. I’ll also share these concerns with colleagues who specialize in gender and human rights issues to amplify advocacy efforts.
– Ajaya Kumar Chaursiya, Former Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs
A remarkable 57 out of 97 approached individuals signed written commitments in support of the human rights of sex workers and sex worker inclusive anti-GBV policies. This is an extraordinary achievement in a political culture where written commitments are seldom provided. These signatures represent a transition from informal acknowledgement to documented responsibility, creating a reference point for future accountability and reform towards sex worker inclusive gender equality.
Nepal’s laws and policies lack clear definitions regarding sex workers, leading to legal ambiguity and inconsistent enforcement. Despite ongoing discussions, the rights of FSWs remain in limbo, with no concrete legal resolution. More research and evidence-based policymaking are needed to ensure informed, effective legal and social reforms.
– Bimala Subedi, Former Chair of Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee
Advocacy Amid Instability
This work unfolded during a period of significant political instability. In September 2025, youth-led anti-corruption protests in Nepal sparked widespread upheaval and the formation of an interim government. Ministries and parliamentary committees were intermittently non-functional, while the National Human Rights Commission prioritised protest-related assessments. These disruptions halted several ongoing advocacy processes and impeded opportunities to move policy discussions forward.
However, the groundwork laid during this period was preserved. Relationships with technical officials remained intact, and FAITH was reassured that these officials would do their best to formally integrate beneficiary-led evidence into draft amendment discussions on the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, as well as into the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare’s roadmap for implementing the 2025 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recommendations given to Nepal.
Looking Ahead: A Path That Continues to Open
The developments achieved reveal important shifts. Political literacy among sex workers is growing; their confidence and visibility increased; and duty bearers, confronted directly with lived experiences and evidence, acknowledged the gravity of violence against sex workers in ways that had not occurred before.
What remains evident is that FAITH’s community driven model has begun to reshape political engagement. When individuals long excluded from public decision-making step into political arenas with clarity, authority, and lived experience, the dynamic changes. Institutions listen differently. Commitments once considered unlikely become possible.
The written pledges secured during this period are more than symbolic. They show that responsibility can be documented that engagement can be deepened, and that a more inclusive political landscape is within reach. One where the rights of sex workers are protected not only in principle but in practice.
KIOS has supported FAITH since 2022, with funding from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ development cooperation.
This week, in addition to celebrating Women’s Day, we’re also acknowledging the International Sex Worker’s Rights Day (3rd of March).