**ECP comment on the article below. It is important that Andrew Boff has raised that he is concerned, as we are, about the high levels of violence against sex workers. But we have no reason to believe that if attacks on sex workers are categorised as hate crimes it will make any difference. Has it […]
(Reuters) – Sex workers in London are being forced to slash prices they charge clients because of the impact of the recession on the British economy and an influx of foreign competition, putting themselves at greater risk of attack, according to a report.The study by the Westminster City Council, the local authority which covers much […]
Labelling attacks against prostitutes as hate crimes could end the agony of those who suffer in silence, police have been told. Complaints by sex workers about violence are rare because they are either not taken seriously or treated as an occupational hazard. Labelling attacks as hate crimes would oblige police to investigate the crime rather […]
Sex workers to campaign against new legal movesStephen NaysmithSEX workers and campaigners are to stage a series of events to protest against criminalisation of their work and warn against driving prostitution underground.Women and men involved in prostitution should be given human rights and protections at work, according to the organisers of a Sex Worker Open […]
In January 2012, Sheila Farmer was prosecuted for keeping/ managing a brothel (SOA 2003). Ms Farmer became a single mother at aged 23. With great difficulty she trained and got work as a computer programmer but after she lost her eyesight and developed a brain tumour as a result of childhood diabetes, she turned to […]
In Somalia, Lul Ali Osman Barake was sentenced to a year in jail after reporting rape by a gang of men in military fatigues. She described being raped twice, first by the military, second by the judicial system. Following an international outcry, the verdict was quashed on appeal (Report, 8 March). Rape victims in Britain […]
My name is Paulina, I am a sex-worker. When I first came to this country I was forced to come here, forced to be a sex-worker. I suffered violence every day and drugs and alcohol. I was being watched 24 hours. I was begging a police officer to come to ask me if I was […]
Dear Friends, We will be taking part in this International Women’s Day event on the 9 March. Prostitution is a survival strategy and we will be contributing some of our experiences. We hope you can join us.An International Women’s Day event Surviving Globally, Surviving in the UK A day of discussion, film and organisingSaturday 9 […]
Cari Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the ECP, commented on the police initiative which claims to target kerb-crawlers:“Security systems among women on the street will be further disrupted and women displaced into unfamiliar areas. Women will be forced to work harder and take more risks to make the same money. 70% of sex workers are mothers, […]
New Zealand took a big step in 2003 by decriminalising prostitution. The English Collective of Prostitutes is fighting for the same status in England. Benjamin Serra The Prisma Poverty and the recent economic crisis forces hundreds of women to work in the sex industry in order to earn money to support their families, to save […]