Non-governmental organizations play an essential role providing support services for sex workers, however the practical, theoretical and ideological foundations of those services remains poorly known. This article presents the characteristics of the 23 agencies that provide direct services for sex workers in Portugal. We aim to clarify the differences and similarities of the approaches, according to the theoretical paradigms in sex work. In this qualitative study, we carried out 23 interviews with the agencies staff members. We linked the theoretical categories: oppression, empowerment, polymorphous with the services and we found a political dimension in some institutions. We concluded that the ideology has an influence on service typology. The services are quite similar, particularly focusing on harm reduction, and there are only two institutions that help exiting from prostitution. Moreover, participation of the sex workers is required on projects that concern them.
NGO; sex work paradigms; prostitution; support services
