Sex workers are being punished for doing what they need to in order to survive, campaigners argueLauren Crosby MedlicottNearly 50 years ago, when she was only 15, Sharon received her first prostitute’s caution while working the streets in Bristol.“My life on the streets started when I was 14,” Sharon, who asked for only her first […]
A woman in the ECP network just won against charges of brothel-keeping. Ms J is a mother and sex worker in Scotland. She worked hard to establish a discreet dungeon space which acted as a safe and secure working environment for sex workers. Her property was aggressively raided by twenty police officers with a battering […]
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is being urged by campaigners to abolish ‘prostitute’s cautions’, which leave sex workers criminalised for life Campaigners from more than 100 organisations claim that prostitute’s cautions trap women in sex work, prevent them from leaving abusive and violent relationships, and push them further into poverty. While prostitution is not against the […]
‘Disastrous.’by Maya Oppenheim. 17 June 2025Labour MPs are attempting to launch the most “draconian” clampdown on sex work devised in Britain in decades, campaigners have warned.Sex workers told Novara Media that the measures proposed by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi could unjustly criminalise their friends and family and put prostitutes’ safety at risk.Antoniazzi, the Labour MP […]
SIGN ONLINE HERE Or email ecp@prostitutescollective.net to be added. Dear Home Secretary, We are writing to ask that you take action to abolish ‘prostitute’s cautions’ which trap women in sex work, prevent them from leaving abusive and violent relationships, and push them further into poverty. ‘Prostitute’s cautions’ are cautions that the police can give to […]
On 24 January 2024 an inquiry was launched to consider the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and its effectiveness in achieving its aims. A Select Committee was appointed to consider how the Act’s provisions have been implemented, how the Act has been impacted by recent political developments, and whether the Act is in need of improvement.The […]
In December 2022 Newham Council issued a consultation on its proposal to bring in a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in the Romford Road.The justification for the PSPO was that sex workers were:“. . . offering sexual services to passersby, engaging in sexual activities in public spaces” and that clients were kerb-crawling and that this […]
A ‘prostitute caution’ requires no evidence, merely suspicion – but stays on your record for a 100 years and blocks you from finding other work. Back in the 1980s, Amanda* worked as a sex worker in Blackpool, desperately trying to earn money for herself and her autistic son. Police were a constant menace. “Because I’m a Black […]
Exclusive: ‘After the raid, a lot of the women didn’t want to return to the premises because they were so traumatised,’ sex worker says as new information obtained under FOI laws emergesMaya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent Around seven in ten police raids reported as being linked to modern slavery and sex trafficking are not resulting in any trafficking victims being referred to support services, […]
Exclusive: Campaigner says changing law ‘could be the difference between life and death for women’Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent The government must review prostitution laws to ensure sex workers can work together on the same premises to remain safe, a senior police officer has said.Dan Vajzovic, the National Police Chief Council’s lead for prostitution and sex work, told The Independent he is working alongside government officials to reassess brothel keeping legislation.Politicians […]