Position Details:

• DFSV Peer Project Coordinator (Meanjin)
• Part time, 30 hours per week.
• Social Community Home Care and Disability Services (SCHCADS) Industry Award 2010 Level 5.1 ($49.28) plus 11.5% Superannuation and Salary Packaging available.
• Note: This project is funded until 30 June 2026.

About Respect Inc

Respect Inc provides peer-based services to and advocacy for sex workers in Queensland. We are a member organisation of Scarlet Alliance, the national peak body representing sex worker organisations in Australia.

We provide peer education, information, events, workshops and support programs to Queensland sex workers regardless of gender, age, location, industry sector, legal status, cultural background, class or linguistic abilities. We also provide a formal medium to communicate sex worker issues and concerns, to improve the rights and respond to the workplace health and safety needs of our peers.

More specifically, we provide:

• information, education, peer support, events, workshops, advocacy and referrals

• outreach to regional and isolated sex workers

• sales of inexpensive safer sex products (condoms, lubes etc)

• allied health services network development

• sex worker community development

• general community education

• policy advice to government

Mission Statement

We are Queensland sex workers voicing our need for human, industrial and workplace rights for all sex workers. We aim to improve the lives of sex workers by eliminating stigma and discrimination via social, legislative and political change.

Vision Statement

We envisage a society where we as sex workers have equal status in society and are free to pursue our occupation safely, on our own terms, without fear of criminalisation, stigma or discrimination. Our vision is for sex work to be recognised as work and as such fully decriminalised.

Values of the Organisation

Diversity, Equality, Rights, Respect, Pride, Autonomy.

Purpose of the position

The DFSV Peer Project Coordinator will support the recovery and healing of sex workers who have experienced domestic, family or sexual violence (DFSV). The DFSV Peer Project Coordinator will provide peer support, tailored to meet the needs of the individual, recognising that recovery and healing is a very personal journey. The position will create linkages and pathways for sex workers to access a broader range of DFSV services.

The project will address the barriers sex workers experience when accessing mainstream services by developing networks, addressing stigma and discrimination and delivering training for other DFSV services and other entities. Support will be provided to sex workers wishing to report DFSV crime. Engagement and advocacy with QPS will aim to address barriers to sex workers reporting these crimes.

Skills and experiences you’ll need to bring

The key skills and experience for this role are:

• Sex work experience
• Knowledge about the sex worker rights movement in Queensland and Australia
• Knowledge of existing DFSV services
• Knowledge of the prevalence and causes of domestic, family or sexual violence
• Knowledge of the stigma and discrimination sex workers face accessing services
• Skills to develop training materials
• Advocacy and representation skills to address systemic barriers

Additional skills and experiences considered valuable:

• Existing networks amongst sex work communities in Queensland
• A strong understanding of Queensland’s laws as they relate to this role
• Project management experience
• Ability to network and create links with external organisations

The position will be based at the Brisbane Respect Inc office. Some travel may be required.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

The DFSV Peer Project Coordinator will be responsible for:

• direct peer support for sex workers who have experienced DFSV with a focus on recovery and healing;
• development of a workforce development training package for service providers to reduce misinformation and stigma related to sex workers and resulting discrimination;
• improving pathways for sex workers to access broader services from other DFSV services as part of their recovery;
• promotion of the project and DFSV awareness raising activities, including on key dates (e.g., International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers);
• coordination of reference group meetings (promoting inclusion of a diverse group of sex workers who have experienced DFSV) to inform the project;
• strengthening existing partnerships and developing new partnerships to enable a multi-sectoral wraparound support response;
• attending sectoral events and contribute to increased awareness of DFSV experiences of sex workers;
• engagement and training with police and other services to reduce the existing significant barriers to sex workers reporting DFSV and accessing protection;
• working effectively as part of a diverse team, attending staff meetings and other training and participating in regular supervision;
• undertaking regular reporting and data collation activities;
• other work as directed by your supervisor; and
• evaluation of project activities.

Key Selection Criteria

Essential:

• Sex work experience, first hand experience of DFSV (details are not required in the application) and a demonstrated understanding of the legal, social and health issues faced by sex workers.
• Knowledge of the prevalence and causes of domestic, family or sexual violence.
• Knowledge of (or the ability to rapidly acquire knowledge of) DFSV services, other referral agencies, and ability to work collaboratively with DFSV and other services.
• Knowledge of the stigma and discrimination sex workers can face accessing services.
• Demonstrated advocacy and representation skills to address systemic barriers.
• Demonstrated communication skills, including interpersonal and written within a range of environments.
• Skills to develop training materials and deliver training.
• Skills to work effectively as part of a diverse team, problem solve and resolve conflict.
• Demonstrated time management skills, organisational administration skills and ability to reflect on and improve work practice.
• Skills (or the ability to rapidly acquire skills) in report writing and computer program usage; including G-Suite and data collection systems.
• A Queensland driver’s licence.

Desirable:

• Previous work experience in a DFSV organisation or similar.

How to Apply:

Read the entire package prior to starting your application.

Prepare:

• A brief cover letter or email.
• A response to each of the key selection criteria, up to one page for each topic. Describe your relevant knowledge and skills.
• Include a copy of your resume or curriculum vitae (CV) that provides your personal details, qualifications and work history, including sex work.
• Provide two referees, including one who can confirm sex work experience, their name, email and/or telephone contact details, to be contacted for a confidential verbal reference.

The Respect Inc team is available to assist you with your application. Email [email protected] to make a time to talk with someone.

Only current or past sex workers are eligible to apply.

If you have any questions please email: [email protected] or [email protected] using the subject line: DFSV Peer Project Coordinator enquiry via EthicalJobs.

Acknowledgement of Country

Respect Inc would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which our offices are located and Elders, past and present. They are the Yirrganydji People and the Yidinji People, the Gunganji People and Tjapukai People of Gimuy (Cairns), the Turrbul People and Yaggera people of Meanjin (Brisbane), the people of the Yugambeh Language Group, the Kombumerri People, and the Ngandowal People and Minjungbal People of the Bundjalung Nation.

We stand in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and respect their strength and resilience in the face of ongoing colonisation.

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

– Lilla Watson, Gangulu Nation