Built on Sisterhood.Governed by Truth.Unapologetically Us.
We are Sri Lanka's leading grassroots collective founded and governed directly by female and transgender sex workers. We transform systemic isolation into organized resilience, frontline legal defence, and uncompromised dignity.
Transforming vulnerability into collective courage.
Governed exclusively by female and transgender sex workers with direct lived experience.
A Unified Front for
Rights, Safety & Autonomy.
Abhimani Women's Collective (AWC) is Sri Lanka's foremost community-rooted movement fighting against the criminalisation, police violence, and societal exclusion faced by female and transgender sex workers.
Operating across urban districts and provincial towns, we provide immediate crisis intervention—including 24/7 emergency bail relief, legal accompaniment, and transitional safe houses—while organizing at national policy tables to advocate for the repeal of colonial vagrancy ordinances and the full recognition of bodily autonomy.
Peer Governance
No outside paternalism. Every priority is determined directly by community members.
Holistic Protection
From legal bail to reproductive health and dignified artisan livelihoods.
Born Out of Collective Resistance
The Underground Bail Tin
Before Abhimani became a registered collective, it was an informal telephone network and emergency mutual-aid circle. Community members pooled daily coins into shared tins to pay bail bonds for peers arbitrarily detained during midnight police raids.
Refusing Extortion & Injustice
Tired of enduring extortion, unlawful detentions under the 1841 Vagrants Ordinance, and denial of emergency hospital care, survivor leaders united. We realized that while individual survival was precarious, organized collective action made us an unignorable force.
National Advocacy & Sisterhood
Today, Abhimani Women's Collective operates institutional safe spaces, publishes pioneering legal rights toolkits, coordinates peer medical care, and represents Sri Lankan sex workers at high-level constitutional consultations.
“We pooled our coins to free our sisters from lockups. Today, we stand tall together.”
Vision & Mission
A Sri Lanka Free of Criminalisation & Violence.
We envision a democratic Sri Lankan society where sex work is decriminalised, bodily choices are respected, and all female and transgender sex workers live with uncompromised dignity, freedom, and equal protection under the law.
Grassroots Empowerment & Systemic Defence.
To protect community members through emergency bail and 24/7 paralegal support, provide stigma-free sexual reproductive healthcare, run safe transitional housing, foster sustainable social enterprises, and advocate for constitutional legislative reforms.
Our Strategic Approach
We bridge immediate frontline emergency rescue with long-term structural policy reform.
Nothing About Us Without Us
Survivor leadership is non-negotiable. All campaigns, services, and shelters are managed by community peers.
Harm Reduction First
We provide judgment-free healthcare, testing, and psycho-social aid without moral conditions or forced rehabilitation.
Emergency Paralegal Aid
Rapid-response court accompaniment and attorney coordination to stop arbitrary police detention in its tracks.
Economic Liberation
Through our artisan enterprise, we provide dignified income alternatives and community-managed emergency relief funds.
Our Core Values
Bodily Autonomy
The unalienable right of every woman and transgender individual to make independent choices regarding their body, labour, and safety.
Uncompromising Dignity
No individual’s right to security, health, and fair legal treatment should ever depend on gender, occupation, or background.
Fierce Sisterhood
Unbreakable solidarity that protects each member against police intimidation, social isolation, and institutional violence.
Radical Accountability
Transparent, survivor-centered stewardship of all resources, always remaining loyal first and foremost to our community.
Leadership & Board
Abhimani Women's Collective is governed by the community it serves. This section will carry the current Board of Directors and leadership profiles as soon as the updated organisational profile is confirmed.
Names, roles, and photographs will be added here from the organisation’s latest guidance. They are not listed until that profile is shared.