- International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is observed annually on December 17 by sex workers, their advocates, friends, families and allies.
- The day calls attention to
- Hate crimes committed against sex workers worldwide, as well as
- The need to remove the social stigma and discrimination
that have contributed to violence against sex workers and indifference from the communities they are part of.
- First observed in 2003, the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers was founded by Dr. Annie Sprinkle and the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA (SWOP-USA), an American sex worker rights organization.
- The International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) adopted the red umbrella as a symbol of resistance to discrimination in 2005.