Submissions & briefings - English Collective of Prostitutes

Submissions & briefings

Evidence, submissions to parliamentary committees and briefings on proposals to change the law.

1st June 2021

Equally Safe: A consultation on challenging men’s demand for prostitution (2020)

In November 2020, the Scottish Government launched a public consultation on “challenging men’s demand for prostitution”. Outrageously, it was presented as part of its “Equally Safe” strategy. The ECP’s response highlights the dangers of criminalisation, including the criminalisation of clients, and sex workers’ demands for decriminalisation, safety and the need for money and other material […]

24th December 2020

Reform of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004 (2018-2020)

In July 2018, the UK Government published its consultation on reform of the GRA in England and Wales. The ECP’s submission supported calls for reform that included the removal of the requirement for a medical diagnosis for achieving legal recognition as well as recognition of non-binary people and those under the age of 18.In October […]

13th September 2020

Irish review of the Operation of Part 4 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 (2020)

The Irish government criminalised the purchase of sexual services under The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. In 2020 it reviewed the law, specifically its ability to protect sex workers from harm and to identify victims of human trafficking. The ECP provided evidence that it did not achieve either of the above aims and recommended […]

30th April 2020

Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) inquiry – Unequal impact: Covid-19 and the impact on people with protected characteristics (2020)

In April 2020, the WEC launched an inquiry into the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on people with protected characteristics (that is people who are discriminated against on the grounds of “age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity”). The ECP’s submission demanded ‘emergency payments for […]

31st December 2019

Women and Equalities Select Committee (WEC) Inquiry into Prostitution: How can we tackle inequalities and harm? (2019)

The remit of the WEC inquiry focused on the “inequalities and harms that sex workers experience at work and the harms associated with prostitution as a whole”. The ECP mobilized its network to submit evidence and ensure that the research didn’t interpret the question of “harm” in a way that reinforces the view that prostitution is inherently […]

25th November 2019

Bristol Home Office Research (2019)

In response to the 2016 Home Affairs Committee recommendation that sex workers on the street and working together in premises be decriminalized, the University of Bristol Centre for Gender and Violence Research was commissioned by the government to investigate. The ECP mobilized its network to give evidence to ensure sex workers voices were heard. The […]

31st October 2019

Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry into Universal Credit and Survival Sex (2019)

Written and oral evidence from the ECP to the Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry into Universal Credit and Survival Sex focused on the impact of austerity on levels of prostitution in the UK. The Committee published its findings in November 2019 and recommended action against some of the worst injustices of the benefit system such as draconian […]

15th August 2019

All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Commercial Sexual Exploitation: inquiry into trafficking for sexual exploitation (2019)

As a follow up to the Government commissioned review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the APPG launched its call for evidence on whether the legal framework of Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) “makes it a more attractive destination for those involved in trafficking adults for the purpose of sexual exploitation”.The ECP’s evidence detailed how […]

1st August 2019

Conservative Party Human Rights Commission Inquiry into the Reform of Prostitution Law (2018)

The ECP’s written and oral evidence focused on the intolerable poverty and increase in prostitution faced by women as a direct result of Conservative austerity cuts, as well as highlighting how destitution and criminalisation makes women and young people more vulnerable to exploitation and violence.In 2019, the CHRC published its report ‘The Limits of Consent’ recommending the […]

29th April 2019

UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (2018)

The UN Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights reports on UN member states’ ‘initiatives taken to promote and protect the rights of those living in extreme poverty’. The ECP’s submission to the Rapporteur points to the way austerity cuts have targeted women, with special note of single mothers, women who are carers, and EU […]