Three men recently attacked my date and I in London’s gay village Soho. They threw coins and shouted “faggot”. I think gentrification partly prompted their resentment. Recently, I was on a date. It was dinner with this guy I’d met at a party, and afterwards we strolled to the train station, stopping every couple […]
*Paragraph that was edited out included in bold. Criminalising prostitution puts women at great riskRacism and xenophobia are also a problem for sex workers The article “Mariana Popa was killed working as a prostitute. Are the police to blame?”, News) is a turning point in getting senior officers such as Chris Armitt to admit that […]
We welcome Rupert Everett’s perceptive article and his support for sex workers (see here). Please also see Mariana Popa was killed working as a prostitute. Are the police to blame? by Diane Taylor and Mark Townsend about the policing of prostitution. Mr Everett’s article describes a Closure Order on a sex worker’s flat being granted […]
The prostitutes of London’s red-light district are being evicted. Here, Rupert Everett argues, with wit and vehemence, that closing down the brothels has nothing to do with protecting women The other night I watched Stephen Ward at the Aldwych Theatre, a morality musical about the destruction of an innocent man by the combined forces of Her Majesty’s […]
In December 2013, 250 police raided sex worker’s flats in Soho (central London). Over 20 flats were closed and women were handcuffed and dragged in their underwear onto the streets. The ECP and Soho Working Girls organised intensively against the closures, getting legal advice and publicising the injustice of the raids. 18 of the 20 […]
A TOP detective has denied any connection between police raids on brothels and plans to redevelop Soho – instead claiming the operation was inspired by American crime drama The Wire.Detective Superintendent Kevin Southworth was forced to defend the recent raids – which involved more than 40 premises in Soho – during a fiery debate in […]
WHAT THE VICTIMS OF THE POLICE RAIDS HAVE REPORTED TO THE ENGLISH COLLECTIVE OF PROSTITUTES AND LEGAL ACTION FOR WOMEN “Forty officers came into our building, approximately 20 went upstairs and 20 came into our flat. They were dressed in full riot gear, with dogs — everything but guns. They broke down our door even […]
Fionola MeredithFeminists and religious fundamentalists shouldn’t mix. If they do find common cause, it’s often a sign that one-dimensional moral or ideological fanaticism – rigid adherence, fuelled by heightened emotion, to absolutist messages and beliefs – has become more important than what happens to real people in the real world.Take the planned introduction of new […]
ICRSE CoordinatorFollowing a series of article in the UK newspaper The Guardian, ICRSE and many sex workers organisations, academics and allies have signed a letter demanding a fairer representation to the debate on criminalisation of clients.To this date, the letter (or its shorter version) have not been published and The Guardian has not contacted ICRSE.Dear […]
UK sex workers hail ruling ‘a victory for decriminalisation everywhere’. We have just heard that the Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously struck down the prostitution laws because they make it “dangerous” for prostitute women and infringe their constitutional rights. The ruling applies to both indoor and outdoor prostitution. The Court is giving the government one year to […]
