Our Story
Southside Justice (formerly St Kilda Legal Service) has been working with sex workers to provide legal help and advocacy for over 50 years.
We partner with Vixen, Victoria’s peer sex worker organisation, to continue this work and established the Sex Worker Legal Program following the passage of the Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 (Vic). We also acknowledge our long-term collaborators from RhED at Better Health Network. We ensure sex workers’ voices shape our service and inform everything we do.
While we receive funding from government, our services are independent and confidential.
Strategy & Approach
Our 2026-28 Strategic Plan outlines how we will strengthen our role in providing specialist, rights-affirming legal services that respond to the realities sex workers face in Victoria.
Our Strategic Plan was developed in consultation with our partners, Vixen and RhED, and Victorian sex workers.
At the centre of this strategy is a simple but essential principle: sex work is work. Safety at work, fair pay, and freedom from discrimination – whether in workplaces, services or the broader community – are basic expectations in most industries. For many sex workers in Victoria, these expectations are still not fully realised. This strategy focuses on bridging those gaps through four key priority areas.
Our Impact
The Sex Worker Legal Program (SWLP) has grown because more sex workers are choosing to use a service designed for them – one that listens without judgement and understands the realities of the job.
In our most recent survey, every single person said their lawyer helped them understand their options, and everyone said they’d recommend the service to other workers. That trust matters to us, and earning it is something we work on every day.
Our casework has helped sex workers get compensation, recover stolen or unpaid money, push back against unfair treatment from councils, estate agents and managers, and safely navigate contact with police. To learn more about the program’s impact and the kinds of issues we’ve supported workers with, you can read the Sex Worker Legal Program 3-year Impact Report (2025).