The ECP objected to the APPG inquiry into the operation of the current legal settlement on prostitution in England and Wales, and its report ‘Shifting the Burden’, on the grounds that it was inherently biased as its stated aim was to ‘end demand for the sex trade’. Blatant inaccuracies in both the methodology and the […]
In 2012 Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart proposed an amendment to the Modern Slavery Bill to make the purchase of sex illegal. Initially she had cross party support but after a campaign spearheaded by the ECP which saw thousands of sex workers lobby their MP, she was forced to withdraw the proposal. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP […]
The ECP submitted evidence to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Rashida Manjoo during her two week investigative mission to the UK. The submission detailed the experience of women in the ECP network and highlighted a number of urgent issues, including: the high level of rape and violence against sex workers and the […]
In December 2012 the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) held a conference in the European Parliament to demand a ban on the “purchase of sex”. The ECP response condemned the EWL for its reckless disregard of women’s lives for prioritising increased criminalisation at a time of increased poverty which was pushing more women, particularly mothers, into […]
In 2012 Rhoda Grant MSP put forward a proposal to criminalise the purchase of sex. The ECP response provides evidence that criminalising clients neither stops prostitution nor prevents sex workers from being criminalised. Fact and testimony are provided to counter the myths and misleading research put forward by Ms Grant. The ECP submission concludes with […]
The ECP campaigned against the Policing and Crime Act 2009, because it increased police powers to arrest women on the street and close premises where women were working in relative safety. But it was the clause that criminalised men for paying for sex with a prostitute forced or coerced that got the attention of the […]
The ECP submitted evidence to the 2000 Government consultation: Setting the Boundaries, Reforming the law on sex offences. We opposed a new offence of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation as, based on the experience of women in our network, anti-trafficking laws are systematically used – not to protect victims – but to arrest […]