Latest News
‘Money for prostitutes is money for Black women’: sex work, race and the English Collective of Prostitutes
Lucy Cann, March 6th 2024 Figure 1: Engish Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) activists at their occupation of Holy Cross Church in November 1982 Introduction Formed in 1975 as an autonomous organisation within the Wages for Housework (WFH) movement, the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) emerged at a time when prostitution resurfaced in feminist debate. They […]
Independent: A quarter of women think sex work should be stigmatised, says poll
Exclusive: ‘Criminalisation and gender stereotypes are the main drivers of stigma against sex workers,’ says Amnesty International Gender Justice DirectorMaya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent More women think sex work should be stigmatised than men, according to new YouGov polling, while most Britons say they would not be friends with someone who appears in pornography.Research shared exclusively with The Independent found around one […]
Independent: Sex workers could be pushed into illegal brothels and dangerous street work due to new laws, MPs warn
Exclusive: Sex worker says online safety bill has pushed her into working in a brothel where a pimp takes half her money, she has no rights and cannot check clients online to ensure they are safe Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent New laws designed to make the internet safer could put sex workers’ lives at risk […]
Update on the campaign that defeated a banning order in Newham
In December 2022 Newham Council issued a consultation on its proposal to bring in a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in the Romford Road.The justification for the PSPO was that sex workers were:“. . . offering sexual services to passersby, engaging in sexual activities in public spaces” and that clients were kerb-crawling and that this […]
Action Alert: Online consultation – Brighton and Hove City Council Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2023- 2026
Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) has issued an online consultation on its Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2023- 2026.The deadline for responses is 1 Jan 2024.It asks you to comment on four priorities and then gives you an opportunity to “suggest any other priorities or anything else you feel we should consider […]
Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) inquiry – Impact of the rising cost of living on women (2023)
The Women and Equalities Parliamentary Committee launched an inquiry into the impact of the rising cost of living on women. The ECP submission reports on the increase in women in crisis coming to us for information about starting work and going back into sex work – some who have left many years ago. Most are […]
The Lead: Labelled Forever – The Policing Tool Ruining Sex Workers’ Lives
A ‘prostitute caution’ requires no evidence, merely suspicion – but stays on your record for a 100 years and blocks you from finding other work. Back in the 1980s, Amanda* worked as a sex worker in Blackpool, desperately trying to earn money for herself and her autistic son. Police were a constant menace. “Because I’m a Black […]
Event: 6 Nov – Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers’ Collective in London!
On the 20th anniversary of the Prostitution Reform Act, which decriminalised sex work in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ), two key members of the ANZ Sex Workers’ Collective (ANZPC) are speaking in London. Dame Catherine Healy, founding member and national coordinator Annah Pickering, Auckland Regional manager Monday 6 November, 12.30-2pm Crossroads Women’s Centre, 25 Wolsey Mews, London, NW5 […]