Crackdowns on street workers

22nd January 2020

Ilford Recorder: ‘A complete disgrace’: National activist group blasts Redbridge Council’s Ilford Lane prostitution crackdown

Redbridge Council’s efforts to reduce prostitution are a “complete disgrace” that will endanger vulnerable women, an activist group has warned.The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECOP) has claimed that a £20,000 trial to change the mindset and behaviour of those soliciting sex will only force sex workers into more dangerous situations.The trial, announced earlier this month, […]

29th July 2019

RightsInfo: Sex Worker Spy Hotline Will Embolden Vigilantes, Campaigners Warn

Sex worker campaign groups fear a new hotline for informing police of suspected brothel activity in east London will embolden vigilantes. The Metropolitan Police is encouraging residents to use a special phone line to report sightings of sex workers, suspected brothels or posters advertising erotic massages around Ilford Lane.It follows continued campaigning from community group CleanUp […]

17th April 2019

Independent: Police criticised for warning Swansea sex workers they could be prosecuted in clampdown

‘It is terrifying that this is the police response to women’s situation. Women are out there because poverty has increased – particularly in that area. People are really struggling,’ says campaignerMaya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent @mayaoppenheimPolice have been criticised for warning sex workers in Swansea that they could be prosecuted in a clampdown. Campaigners argued this would put the women in greater danger.Sex […]

14th April 2019

Ilford Recorder: Letters – Don’t punish the sex workers

Niki Adams, English Collective of Prostitutes, Crossroads Women’s Centre, Wolsey Mews, Kentish Town, writes:We are distressed to see “Street Watch” patrols in Ilford Lane which claim to target kerb crawlers as this is likely to push sex workers into more isolated areas where they will be more vulnerable to violence.We have also seen how quickly […]

1st November 2018

Bulletin 7: January – October 2018

The English Collective of Prostitutes gathers reports from our nationwide network and the media, and regularly publishes them in the form of a bulletin. These reports show that police crackdowns on prostitution are widespread, that women are subjected to surveillance and raids, are convicted, fined, and even go to prison – all with devastating consequences.In […]

1st February 2018

Bulletin 6: September 2017 – January 2018

The English Collective of Prostitutes collect and publish reports of raids and arrests that we receive through our network, they show how the police continue to criminalise women selling sex in a variety of ways. It is completely unjust that women, who often enter into sex work due to poverty, receive criminal records that prevent […]

19th January 2018

Action Alert: please protest Redbridge Council’s proposal for £100 fines against people involved in prostitution.

Dear Friends,Redbridge Council have launched a consultation on a proposed policy to extend Public Spaces Protection Orders to the whole borough. This would give them the power to fine people £100 for prostitution related activities and ban people from areas during particular times of the days using civil injunctions.Please protest by filling in the consultation […]

1st May 2017

Bulletin 4: January – April 2017

This bulletin is compiled by the English Collective of Prostitutes from information from our network around the UK and from press reports. It shows that the police continue to take action against sex workers on the streets and working together with others in premises despite the recommendations of a Home Affairs Committee that sex workers […]

28th March 2017

Vice: Hull’s ‘prostitution free’ zone isn’t going to stop the local sex trade

The residents, sex workers and activists I spoke to told me it’s only going to force everything into a new area. Last week, Hull City Council won a landmark ruling to create Britain’s first “prostitution-free zone”. The new orders mean that any sex workers or curb crawlers caught around the impoverished Hessle Road area – where […]

1st January 2017

Bulletin 3: October – December 2016

The English Collective of Prostitutes has compiled the information below on raids, arrests and prosecutions of sex workers. These continue despite recommendations from a prestigious parliamentary committee that sex workers should be decriminalised. In July 2016, the Home Affairs Committee published the findings of its inquiry[1] and recommended a change in the law “so that […]