Get Involved

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Project X! As a small organization, we depend greatly on the generosity of our volunteers.

Our Volunteer Vision is a two-way promise between Project X and volunteers:

Project X to volunteers:

We promise to provide a community and safe space for volunteers. We seek to create an environment focused on the sharing and imparting of knowledge on sexual health and sex workers’ rights in Singapore.

Volunteers to Project X:

We promise to be accountable, responsible, and to put the welfare of the sex workers at forefront of our work. We promise to be open to new experiences, and approach everything with compassion and an open mind.

2021 Update: Our volunteer programme is undergoing a bit of a restructure. We will likely open the programme for new sign ups in late April so do check back again! In the meantime, you may peruse our updated volunteer role descriptions and code of conduct

Internship opportunities for March 2021 are available

Are you passionate about ending violence against sex workers? Are you ready to stand in solidarity with a community who faces injustice at every turn? Do you have the grit, tenacity and perseverance to work with an NGO who goes all out for those we serve? Learn more about how you can have an eye-opening experience with us!

Interns work on some of the tasks listed below. However, please note that our needs might change depending on the period you choose to do your internship and where we think that your time will be more well spent.

• Business Administration and Operations
• Sexual Health Outreach and Testing
• Casework and Befriender Services
• Quantitative Research
• Qualitative Research
• Communications and Social Media

Working with us will force you to question your own biases as well as building a network with people who are just as eager as you to make a difference. We will push you to expand your comfort zones. You will also be gifted with fruitful discussions and great friends! Interns will receive a stipend of S$15 a day.

A week was all it took at Project X for me to realise how misinformed I was about sex-workers and the industry. I found myself getting increasingly more passionate about the cause and was eager to do and learn more. The learning never stops at Project X especially when the team has a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips. I now have a glimpse of how an NGO runs as well as the myriad of emotions you will go through.

The people I met during my 3 months here has helped me grow as an individual due the constant encouragement and guidance I received from everyone I crossed paths with. To say that the experience I got with Project X was incredible is an understatement. The exposure to how sex workers are perceived and treated by the general public as well as law enforcers will concretise the importance of why there is a need for an NGO like this. To future or on-the-fence interns, Project X will change the way you look, feel, and perceive society as a whole. It provided me with a new lens that I will always be eternally grateful for.

– Elisha Vishinpir, Monash University, 2019

When I first emailed Sherry, Vanessa, and Wany about interning at Project X, I never could have imagined having such an amazing experience. As a Canadian student, I had a lot to learn about the policies and cultural attitudes towards sex work in Singapore, and the team was super welcoming and patient with me throughout this process.

During the internship, I was mainly helping Sherry with a research project about the experiences of sex workers in Singapore. We interviewed many sex workers about their experience with discrimination, their feelings about their job, and their suggestions for how sex work can be made safer. The goal of this research is to better educate the public on what sex work is and how the current laws are harming sex workers.

My greatest hope is that we end the violence and discrimination against sex workers, and I am so thankful to have had the chance to work towards this goal with the dedicated team of staff and volunteers at Project X.

– Stephanie Li, McGill University, 2018

We accept interns throughout the year. To apply, please fill in our Internship Application Form and we aim get back to you within 2 weeks. If you have any questions about the internship, please feel free to email us at intern@theprojectx.org!

It is heartening to know that there are people who are interested in knowing more about the sex industry and the lives of sex workers.

However, as a community-based, non-profit organization, our resources are limited and we need to generate income to keep our services running. We at Project X do get a lot of requests for interviews and referrals to sex workers from students and researchers. To provide interviews and referrals takes away time and energy from us fulfilling our mission.

As such, before you approach us, we do request that you consider whether this research will be mutually beneficial:

• Will you be able to budget for compensation for your interviewees?
• Will you be able to budget for professional consultation fees with Project X? We charge a professional fee between $200 to $500 per hour depending on the nature of the research or the event, and the nature of the audience.
• Will your research help to advocate for sex workers’ rights?
• Will your final product be shared with us? Will you be able to write an article for our blog illuminating your findings?
• Will you be willing to volunteer for Project X? (See above volunteer roles.)

People involved the sex industry cannot just be a population that helps you get your research done or your degree completed. For us to work with you, we must feel that our collaboration, time, and expertise is respected.

If you believe that we need to hear about your research, please proceed to fill up this form and we will get back to you within 7 working days! Research Request Form

Nevertheless, there is a wealth of information on our website, so please do click around and learn more!

What can Project X do for you?

If you are in a relationship with a migrant sex worker, or looking to marry a migrant sex worker, Project X can help you with:

1. Legal advice on marriage
2. Legal advice on immigration
3. Relationship advice and a support group of fellow sex workers

I know of a sex worker who is facing abuse! What should I do?

If there is imminent danger to the sex worker, please make a police report. Depending on the nature of the abuse, the police will take a report and then refer the worker to the hospital.

Please note that if the sex worker is not feeling well, she may postpone the statement. The importance of the accuracy of the statement cannot be understated. Please make sure that the worker is clear on the story and fully consents to making the report.

Please also note that there must be a translator present if the worker does not speak English. Simply notify the police officer and they are obliged to fulfil the request.

If you require further advice, please do not hesitate to drop us an email at projectx.sg@gmail.com or call us at 90609906. If you wish for us to accompany you to the station, please also do contact us. All emails to us are kept private, which means there will be no police involvement until the sex worker gives her consent. Also, we respond to cases of abuse through our network of sex workers and other allies – providing you with a team that will respond to cases of abuse from a position of expertise on the industry.

I know of human trafficking being carried out! What should I do?

Human Trafficking is very specifically defined in the law passed in March 2015. If you are unsure, please see the Statute.

If you suspect that human trafficking has taken place, please report immediately to the police and flag it as human trafficking. You may also make a report to SPF-Report-Trafficking@spf.gov.sg

Here are some useful indicators of human trafficking.

• Being deceived about the nature of the job, location or employer.
• Confiscation of passport and/or other documents.
• Forced into illicit/criminal activities.
• Abduction, forced marriage, forced adoption or selling of victim.
• Forced tasks or clients.
• Abuse of lack of education or lack of language skills
• Debt Bondage

Likewise, if you require assistance and support from Project X, please email us.

Why should I support sex worker’s rights?

• Because sex workers are human beings too. Just as you would not like to be harassed or discriminated against for paying for sex, sex workers don’t want to be harassed or discriminated against for providing you with their services.
• Because it removes discrimination against you. When society realizes that sex work is work, and that sex workers are human too, discrimination against people who visit sex workers goes down.

If you wish to volunteer with us, please drop us an email! We need all the support we can get.