‘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 […]
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 […]
UPDATE 28 April – VICTORY!! Proposal for Newham’s Public Space Protection Order has been scrapped! We told the council that it would put sex workers at more risk of violence, criminalise women for trying to make a living, & be a dangerous expansion of police powers and they listened! Read more here. —————– Newham Council […]
Activists have been fighting for sex work to be decriminalised for decades, but what would that actually look like? Writer Brit Dawson investigatesThis article is part of our Future of Sex season – a series of features investigating the future of sex, relationships, dating, sex work and sex worker rights; tech; taboos; and the next socio-political sexual frontiers.When I ask London-based sex worker Rosa to […]
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 homeless Maya 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 […]