Decriminalisation increases sex workers’ safety and well-being. New Zealand decriminalised sex work in 2003 with verifiable success. Over 90% of sex workers said they had additional employment, legal, health and safety rights. One important measure of this is that prior to decriminalisation 47% of brothel workers had refused to see a client in the previous 12 months, after decriminalisation 68% of brothel workers had done this. 70% said they were more likely to report incidents of violence to the police.
For more information see our briefing Why Decriminalisation? and report Decriminalisation of Prostitution: the Evidence.
The Royal College of Nursing today voted in favour of the motion: “that this meeting of Congress calls upon the RCN Council to lobby governments across the UK to decriminalise prostitution.” The motion was proposed by the RCN Greater Bristol Branch. Nurse Lou Cahill, who spoke to the motion commented: “I am proud that nurses […]
By Laura WatsonIn 1980, the English Collective of Prostitutes wrote to Len Murray, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress in the UK, asking to affiliate as a union. Since we were founded in 1975, we had been defending women against criminalisation, workplace violence and exploitation, and providing other support – the kind of work […]
Press The Guardian: Decriminalise Sex Work to Protect us From Crime, Prostitutes Say. “The English Collective of Prostitutes is calling for the removal of laws relating to consensual adult sexual behaviour, arguing that the legislation forces sex workers to operate alone, leaving them vulnerable to crime and reluctant to report violence to the police […]
We spoke to The English Collective of Prostitutes about their new ‘Make All Women Safe’ campaign, which takes aim at legislation that coerces women into working alone. “Nobody should ever be promoting the criminalisation of sex work without first acknowledging the danger it puts us in.” These are the words of Niki Adams, a spokeswoman […]
Niki Adams English Collective of Prostitutes spokeswoman Niki Adams writes in support of a new campaign to make sex workers safer Three women are discussing their jobs. They moan about their boss and the stresses and strains of their work and laugh about the characters they encounter and the comic moments. One says that the […]
NATALIE GILThere are more than 72,800 sex workers in the UK, according to the government, yet this sizeable group of mostly women are among the most marginalised people in society. On International Women’s Day, which champions the rights and safety of all women, the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP), a national sex workers organisation, has launched a […]
By Alex Feis-Bryce Chief Executive RightsInfo CEO, Alex Feis-Bryce, who founded the award-winning sex worker safety charity National Ugly Mugs, discusses International Sex Workers Rights Day, the English Collective of Prostitutes’ #MakeAllWomenSafe campaign and why policymakers need to put aside their moral and ideological judgements and listen to sex workers. Yesterday, on International Sex Workers Rights Day, my […]
This isn’t about whether sex work is uniquely degrading or empowering – it’s about the reality of 70,000 women who today will exchange sex for money and who are not being protected by the law Niki Adams Spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes Sheila started selling sex to pay off debts and […]
By Meka BeresfordSex workers have made a fresh call for decriminalisation as part of a push to create better safety for women.The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) is launching it’s #makeallwomensafe campaign on March 3, International Sex Workers’ Rights Day, to push for the decriminalisation of sex work to create safer environments for women. Watch […]