Sex worker organisations in Uganda have marked the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers by warning that attacks and killings remain a daily reality, driven by criminalisation, stigma and a lack of protection.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Nakatube Debora, a member of the sex worker community and the Uganda Network of Quick Population Service Organisations (UNETO), said violence against sex workers was not a historical issue but an ongoing national emergency.
She said sex workers continue to face systemic violence, criminalisation and deep social marginalisation, arguing that existing laws have worsened insecurity by pushing the trade underground and allowing perpetrators to act with impunity while victims fear reporting abuse.
According to Nakatube, criminalising sex work does not offer protection but instead exposes sex workers to grave injustice, as stigma reinforced by society and state institutions fuels discrimination and violence.
Her remarks come amid a series of killings of sex workers, including cases activists have described as the Rapaq femicides, which they say point to a broader pattern of targeted violence. UNETO said sex workers were being killed with alarming frequency, warning that lives were being lost nearly every other day.
The network said each killing represents not only a life lost but also a failure of systems meant to protect fundamental rights, adding that families and communities are left shattered as cases go unresolved.
Uganda’s laws criminalise sex work, a reality human rights organisations have long argued increases vulnerability to assault, extortion and murder. Police statistics on killings of sex workers are not publicly disaggregated, making it difficult to independently verify the scale of the violence.
To mark the international day, UNETO issued several demands to the authorities, including the immediate decriminalisation of sex work, which it said is essential to improving safety and access to justice.
The organisation also called on the government to formally condemn the killing of sex workers and to recognise the violence as a national emergency requiring urgent intervention.
UNETO further urged the Uganda Police Force to conduct thorough and independent investigations into all unresolved killings of sex workers and to publish transparent reports that hold perpetrators accountable.
The network also appealed to the judiciary to fast-track cases involving violence against sex workers and women, arguing that prolonged delays in prosecution only deepen impunity.
Nakatube said swift, fair and impartial trials are necessary to break the cycle of violence and ensure justice for victims.
The International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is observed annually on December 17 to honour victims of violence and draw attention to abuses faced by sex workers worldwide.