Grant: Catalyst Grant: HIV/AIDS CBR Program - General Stream

This catalyst grant proposal was initiated by PEERS Victoria Resources Society as an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services in the Victoria area for sex workers and those in their networks. The proposal is a collaboration which involves a diverse network of representatives from peer-based service organizations, medical clinics for marginalized populations, health service managers, and academics who have studied the sex industry in Victoria for the past two decades. he research project has four aims: 1) Create an evidence-based report with two main components: a) building on the research literature, it will describe proven effective empowering strategies for sex workers and other populations at higher risk of exposure to HIV/AIDS such as men who have sex with men and injection drug users; b) it will describe the current state of, and key factors that led to, co-operation among agencies that serve sex workers; 2) Develop and deliver an empowerment program tailored for the city of Victoria based on the evidence based report; 3) Develop and implement an evaluation plan to assess the effectiveness of the empowerment program, and 4) Document the development and delivery process for distribution and possible adoption in other communities and subsequent further research.