Rachel Wotton

Rachel Wotton is an international migrant sex worker, living and working throughout Australia and overseas, for over two decades. She has previously held positions with SWOP NSW, Scarlet Alliance – the Australian Sex Workers’ Association and Touching Base (an Australian organisation that brings people with disability and sex workers together to advocate for the rights for both marginalised communities).

Rachel has presented at local, national and international forums including the International AIDS Conference (IAC), International Harm Reduction Conference (IHRA), the Annual American Geography Conference (AAG) and the Congress of the World Association for Sexual Health conferences. Australian based conferences include:

-         Sexuality – out of the closet for disability, 27th Annual SINA Conference, Spinal Injury Nurses Association, Northfield, South Australia

-         The dignity of touch, Human Rights & Social Justice - Shifting Client Control, ADA Australia National Conference, Aged and Disability Advocates, Crowne Plaza, Surfers Paradise Queensland

-         Exploring the roles a sex worker can play during someone’s sexual exploration, Building for the future, Neuromuscular conference, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW

-         Heading into the Twilight Years with a Twinkle in your Eye, Nursing with attitude! Conference; Nurses in Management – Aged Care (NIMAC); Gold Coast, Queensland

 In 2011 Rachel was featured in an Australian documentary, Scarlet Road (www.scarletroad.com.au), which outlined her work with clients with disability and the work of Touching Base Inc. In April 2016 Rachel presented further on this topic at TEDx Bunbury; "Open your mind to what goes on behind closed doors" (http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Open-Your-Mind-to-What-Goes-on).

Rachel graduated in 2017 with a M.Phil (Medicine) from University of Sydney. Her Masters by Research focused on Sex workers who provide services to clients with disability in New South Wales, Australia. [ Open Source: https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/16875 ]. She is a current PhD Candidate, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Australia, examining the experiences of people with disability who access sex worker services.

Her most recent publication incorporates information learnt while undertaking her Churchill Fellowship in 2017: to review training programs for sex workers providing services to clients with disability:

Wotton R; (2021) Paid Sexual Services Available for People with Disability: Exploring the Range of Modalities Offered Throughout the World, Book chapter, (Ed) Shuttleworth, R & Mona, L; Routledge Handbook of Disability and Sexuality.