CRIMINALISING CLIENTS UNDERMINES SEX WORKERS’ SAFETY & OTHER RIGHTS The English Collective of Prostitutes strongly oppose proposals being put forward today by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution to criminalise sex workers’ clients. Spokeswoman, Cari Mitchell, commented: “Criminalising clients will not stop prostitution, nor will it stop the criminalisation of women. But it will make […]
Your support helped win this victory – thank you Two sex workers’ flats in Soho, central London were yesterday re-opened by a judge at Isleworth Crown Court. Judge JW Kingston rejected police evidence that women working in walk-up flats in Brewer Street were being controlled or incited into prostitution for gain. He overturned the closure […]
The tragic murder of Maria Duque-Tunjano last Friday shows the dangers of women working alone. Sex workers are prevented by the brothel-keeping laws from working together from premises and this deprives women of protection they are entitled to and have been able to organise for themselves. Working from premises is 10 times safer than working […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Closure Order against a flat in Tisbury Court, Soho, was thrown out of court this morning. District Judge Barrie found that insufficient steps had been taken to contact the owner of the premises. This decision is in contrast to the rulings of District Judge Susan Williams who presided over approximately ten other closure order […]
The French parliament has been discussing the criminalisation of sex workers’ clients and will be voting on it tomorrow. The proposals are based on the ‘Swedish model’, and claim to decriminalise the women while criminalising the men.The English Collective of Prostitutes campaigns for the decriminalisation of prostitution, and together with STRASS, the French sex workers’ […]
West Midlands police claim to have “rescued five women believed to be sex trafficking victims” during raids on “suspected brothels” in Birmingham. Closure orders [1] have been used against over 30 flats. However, no charges of trafficking have been brought. “Two women and three men were arrested on suspicion of managing a brothel”. Brothel-keeping (s33, […]
ANOTHER PRECIOUS LIFE LOST A 24-year-old woman was murdered on Monday night in Ilford Lane, Ilford. This tragic killing comes in the wake of Operation Clearlight a major police crackdown on street prostitution in this area which began in September. Over 200 women have received “prostitute cautions” and many have been arrested for loitering and […]