San Francisco, CA, USA
St. James Infirmary is a peer-based occupational health and safety clinic for sex workers of all genders. We are the first occupational health and safety clinic in the U.S. run by Sex Workers for Sex Workers. It is our mission to meet the needs of people engaged in the sex trade through advocacy, direct services, and social justice. Since June 1999, St. James Infirmary has served thousands of Sex Workers and their partners. Each year we provide: ~1,000 medical services to over 300 unduplicated Sex Workers; ~2,500 contacts in our syringe distribution & collection program; ~ 3,000 street and venue based outreach contacts; and Peer education and training workshops to over 250 Sex Workers.
We also provide presentations on sex work and harm reduction approaches to working with the vibrant and diverse Sex Worker community for medical and social service providers in the Bay Area. Impacts of our work include increasing access to primary healthcare and social services for Sex Workers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area; formalizing communication and collaboration among individuals and agencies who serve Sex Workers to better serve our community; and promoting peer-based public health initiatives on behalf of Sex Workers, which may be used as a model for improving occupational health and safety standards and developing comprehensive medical and social services for Sex Workers around the world.