Besides violations in health services, the report demonstrated how sex workers’ vulnerability to and burden of HIV is further heightened by human rights violations suffered at the hands of persons in authority, specifically law enforcement officers including City Council askaris, police and prison officers.

The report said the violations included exploitation and harassment including arbitrary arrests, limited access to justice in cases of rape, inhumane and degrading treatment while in police custody including breach of privacy and denial of and limited access to treatment while in police custody and prison.

On this note, the report recommended that Laws, policies, and practices that negatively impact on sex workers’ health and human rights, through criminalization or other means, must be reformed.

“These include national laws and/or subsidiary legislation based on the Kenyan Penal Code, the Sexual Offences Act and county laws regularizing morality and related conduct. It is essential that laws to protect human rights are not undermined by practices and policies,” the report advised.

The report is a result of community-led research conducted by the National Empowerment Network for Persons Living with HIV and AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK) in collaboration with Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Programme (BHESP) and Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA).