Editing Sex worker (section)

=== Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) ===
NGOs often play a large role in outreach to sex workers, particularly in [[HIV]] and [[Sexually transmitted infection|STI]] prevention efforts.<ref name="Dhanda, dharma, and disease">{{Cite journal |last=O'Neil |first=John |date=August 2004 |title=Dhandha, dharma and disease: traditional sex work and HIV/AIDS in rural India |journal=Social Science and Medicine |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=851–860 |doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2003.11.032 |pmid=15177840}}</ref> However, NGO outreach to sex workers for HIV prevention is sometimes less coordinated and organized than similar HIV prevention programs targeted at different groups (such as men who have sex with men).<ref name="HIV, Sex Work in China">{{Cite journal |last=Kaufman |first=Joan |date=2011 |title=HIV, Sex Work, and Civil Society in China |journal=Journal of Infectious Diseases |volume=204 |issue=5 |pages=S1218–S1222 |doi=10.1093/infdis/jir538 |pmid=22043035 |doi-access=free}}</ref> This lack of organization may be due to the legal status of prostitution and other sex work in the country in question; in China, many sex work and drug abuse NGOs do not formally register with the government and thus run many of their programs on a small scale and discreetly.<ref name="HIV, Sex Work in China" />

While some NGOs have increased their programming to improve conditions within the context of sex work, these programs are criticized at times due to their failure to dismantle the oppressive structures of prostitution, particularly forced trafficking. Some scholars believe that advocating for rights within the institution of prostitution is not enough; rather, programs that seek to empower sex workers must empower them to leave sex work as well as improve their rights within the context of sex work.<ref name="Prostitution as violence against women">{{Cite journal |last=Raymond |first=Janice G. |author-link=Janice Raymond |date=January–February 1998 |title=Prostitution as violence against women: NGO stonewalling in Beijing and elsewhere |journal=[[Women's Studies International Forum]] |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1016/S0277-5395(96)00102-1}}</ref>