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The “war” with Denis MacShane on Newsnight was not about statistics but about the policies the statistics were invented to justify. New Labour legislation would increase police powers against both sex workers and clients. Now that the figures have been discredited, MacShane calls them ‘futile’.Paxman was not “hostile”; he was Paxman. But MacShane was confronted […]
Nick DaviesThere is something familiar about the tide of misinformation which has swept through the subject of sex trafficking in the UK: it flows through exactly the same channels as the now notorious torrent about Saddam Hussein’s weapons.In the story of UK sex trafficking, the conclusions of academics who study the sex trade have been […]
The UK’s biggest ever investigation of sex trafficking failed to find a single person who had forced anybody into prostitution in spite of hundreds of raids on sex workers in a six-month campaign by government departments, specialist agencies and every police force in the country.The failure has been disclosed by a Guardian investigation which also suggests […]
Unpublished letterDear Sir or Madam,Nick Davies parallels the lies on trafficking to those on weapons of mass destruction — the same disregard for the truth and for people’s lives to impose a reckless political agenda (“Sex, lies and trafficking — the anatomy of a moral panic” Guardian, 20 October 2009).Yes, the “speculative” claims of academics Kelly and […]
Dear Friends,We know there are fewer people around over the holiday season but another woman in our network is facing brothel keeping charges. Please can you write immediately to Sarah Brown at Luton Crown Prosecution Service, using the letter below to express your concerns.sarah.brown2@cps.gsi.gov.uk Ms F is a mother and was working with four friends […]
As individuals and organisations concerned with health and safety, we believe that legislation on prostitution should be judged first of all by whether it helps sex workers, especially women and their families. We don’t think the Policing and Crime Bill now before parliament does that. The harsher definition of persistent soliciting (twice over a period […]
BY RACHEL WESTTaking advantage of the recent turmoil over the huge city budget cuts, Mayor Gavin Newsom and Sup. Carmen Chu, have pushed though malicious legislation imposing criminal charges and restrictions on massage parlors. Many are outraged that this costly legislation was prioritized — we want to know why it was, and how much it […]