During the 2012 Olympic games hosted in London, the events were used by police as justification for a crackdown on sex workers throughout the UK. Raids, arrests, and prosecutions all increased. The ECP protested that the “clean-up” put sex workers in danger by deterring women from reporting violence for fear of arrest, and the decision to target brothels brought widespread criticism including from the probation union Napo.
Major sporting events such as World Cups and Olympic Games are often preceded by warnings about a rise in prostitution and sex trafficking as a result of the impending influx of spectators. But will prostitution in London really increase because of the 2012 Olympics?It seems like every time a World Cup or an Olympics appears […]
Sex workers in east London are facing victimisation in more ways than one leading up to the Olympic Games. There is an unholy alliance between, on the one hand, the government-driven police ‘clean-up’ operation and, on the other, often well-meaning victim support groups. The harassment leading up to the games is opposed by, among others, […]
“Buy Sex – Pay the Price,” scream the posters in Brixton Tube. A silhouette of a shady man stands underneath the headline, moodily checking his mobile phone. “Lambeth Council and Lambeth police are targeting those who buy sex,” explains the blurb, helpfully reminding commuters that “Prostitution is a form of violence against women and girls.” […]
Denis Hof, Nevada Bunny Ranch owner, proposes a temporary licence to run a brothel during the Olympics.Niki Adams, English Collective of Prostitutes, comments:“Sex workers don’t need or want licensed or legalised brothels so that bosses have more opportunities to exploit us. We want decriminalisation, like in New Zealand, so we can work together collectively and […]
An increase in police raids over the past 18 months has seen prostitutes moved on.When the oldest profession clashes with the Ancient Games, the women get moved on. Raids on brothels and tough action against street prostitutes in parts of London hosting the Olympics have sparked claims that the streets are being cleared at the […]
Dopo le tende per contenere gli ubriachi e toglierli così dalla vista dei turisti che affolleranno Londra per le Olimpiadi (dando l’idea di una città sana e pulita), ora in Inghilterra hanno optato per un giro di vite contro la prostituzione. E così sono partite le retate per togliere le lavoratrici del sesso dalle strade dei cinque quartieri a […]
A crackdown on prostitution in the Olympic boroughs is putting the lives of sex workers at risk, it has been claimed.New figures show that arrests of prostitutes in the areas surrounding the Olympic site in Newham have increased dramatically in the run-up to the Games.In Tower Hamlets, the number of arrests made in the first […]
As arrests, raids and prosecutions of sex workers increase in Olympic boroughs and throughout the UK, calls for the decriminalisation of prostitution highlight the need to protect sex workers from rape and violence. Cari Mitchell, English Collective of Prostitutes commented: “Police crackdowns are putting sex workers’ lives at risk. Security systems among women on the street are […]
The Met should turn a blind eye to prostitutes working in brothels, according to a Conservative member of the London Assembly.Andrew Boff claimed today that police were being too “severe” in shutting small-scale brothels ahead of the Olympics, forcing women on to the street and putting them in danger.Mr Boff also called for brothels to […]
Scotland Yard has been accused of endangering sex workers after it emerged that officers were targeting brothels in London’s Olympic boroughs as part of a coordinated clean-up operation ahead of the 2012 games.The Yard’s human exploitation and organised crime command (SCD9) was launched in April last year, bringing together expertise in the fields of clubs and […]