The Alliance of Women Advocating for Change (AWAC) is a feminist umbrella network of 57 grassroots Female Sex Worker (FSW) led groups, organizations and collectives in Uganda. It was established in 2015 to promote the voices, work and respond to FSWs’ integrated quality HIV/SRHR/GBV & mental health services, capacity strengthening in feminist leadership and grassroot movement building; research, documentation and gender equality advocacy; challenge the multiple facets of criminalization and stigmatization of sex workers, address the socio-economic deprivation, and shrinking civic space.

Since her inception AWAC has successfully mobilized its grassroot members to challenge stigma, discrimination and criminalization of all forms, championed access to comprehensive quality health services and GBV services, led legislative advocacy campaigns, and conducted research and capacity strengthening programs on leadership and grassroot movement building, reached over 32,000 FSWs with multiple, compounding and intersecting vulnerabilities living in the rural communities, peri-urban areas and urban settings.

AWAC’s target categories include Female Sex Workers (FSWs) with multiple, compounding and intersecting vulnerabilities especially: FSWs with disabilities; FSWs in & out of the Settlements; Migrant FSWs; FSWs using and injecting drugs; Aging FSWs; FSWs living with HIV& AIDs; FSWs in hard-to-reach settings –such as (Islands, landing sites, plantation and quarries areas); Young Women engaging in sex work; children of sex workers and Adolescents surviving in sex work settings in Uganda.