Services4SexWorkers
Health

Everybody who is insured has the right to health care. There is a general obligation to be insured. There is one obligatory insurance institution in Poland: National insurance. Everyone is insured, even unemployed, if they are registered. It may happen that someone is not insured (rare cases) but even then in some circumstances this person has the right to medical care. Therefore those sex workers who are Polish citizens are insured and have access to free medical help covering diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.

Mandatory testing is not allowed by law for sex workers.

Harm reduction programs are mostly conducted by NGOs. In such cases neither insurance nor citizenship matter at all. The only exception so far is methadone treatment which is a medical care in terms of the law.

Migrant sex workers without a regular residence and work permits do however face serious problems in accessing medical care. There is no possibility for any uninsured person to access HIV treatment, irrespective their nationality. The problem is less severe in regards to HIV testing; HIV screening can be done anonymously and it is not required to show proof of insurance or an ID card. Screening for other STIs, however, does require insurance. This effectively excludes illegal migrant sex workers from free screening. Free treatment and rehabilitation always require insurance.