by Rachel West, US PROStitutes CollectiveThere is a wave of change in the US on the rights of sex workers and it is growing. A slew of laws challenging the criminalization of sex work are being put forward around the country and New York, Seattle and now California have repealed legislation which made loitering for […]
In November 2020, the English Collective of Prostitutes organised a ground-breaking event, Sex Workers: Access to Justice, which brought together sex workers, violence against women organisers, academics, and human rights groups to examine the extent of violence faced by sex workers, what exacerbates the risks of violence, and the obstacles experienced by sex workers when […]
Exclusive: ‘They like to have the power, especially if they know the girl is scared then they have the upper hand,’ says sex workerMaya Oppenheim Women’s CorrespondentPolice officers have been accused of ignoring the law in order to ‘bully, harass and intimidate’ sex workers.Two letters, sent to police by campaigners and shared exclusively with The Independent, accuse officers of […]
Exclusive: Sex worker says being ‘dragged through’ criminal justice system has ‘destroyed’ her life and made her homelessMaya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent“Five or six police officers came to my flat last April,” Iris says.“I was really shocked so I didn’t open the door because I didn’t know what was going on. They broke my door.”The 35-year-old woman, […]
The English Collective of Prostitutes has highlighted 10 of the common responses members receive from police when reporting harassment and violence. The group says decriminalisation of sex work could mitigate the stigma.ANEZKA TUREKEnglish Collective of Prostitutes during a protest last year. Image: Juno Mac / SWARM“Who do you go to if police are part of […]
Criminalisation, poverty and the hostile environment are roots of violence against sex workers. It’s time to end them all, say Niki Adams and Laura Connelly Since 2003, those of us involved in the movement for sex workers’ rights have commemorated 17 December as the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. It is a day of mourning, […]
“Governments say that they’re tackling modern slavery, but they use that as a guise to raid and deport and terrorize migrant sex workers in the UK . . When sex workers actually go and report violence, including trafficking to the police, nothing is done about it. In some cases sex workers are actually arrested themselves […]
A murder carried out almost a decade before her birth, and which her family should have had no connection to, has long cast a shadow for Cassie Justice Parris. The 24-year-old only found out through anxious curiosity how her father, Tony Paris, had been dragged into what would become Britain’s longest running murder trial, unwilling to wait until she was older to be let in on what appeared to be a secret in her father’s past. “I googled […]
Following Brexit, sex workers say they face increased violence, xenophobia and threats of deportation.Sex workers in the UK have faced increased xenophobia, violence, and fears around deportation in the years since the Brexit referendum, according to a new report. Research from the University of Salford and the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) looks at Brexit and […]
Exclusive: ‘I have been threatened by men on the street who said they would attack me,’ says sex worker Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent @mayaoppenheim Violence and threats of deportation against sex workers from the European Union who are living in the UK have surged since the Brexit vote, according to researchers. A first of its kind study, carried out by the […]