All Sheila Farmer was trying to do was guarantee the safety of her and fellow consensual sex workers from violence, rape and robbery, that she was prosecuted is a national disgrace…It was January 3rd, 2012. Stepping over the broken-winged corpses of umbrellas on Croydon’s pavements, a rain-drenched, gale-battered group of approximately thirty supporters, myself included, […]
The government claims it needs to make cuts but squanders huge amounts of money prosecuting women like me.This week charges of brothel-keeping against me were dropped. It’s enough for two prostitutes to live or work together for us to be illegal. To be within the law we must work alone. After 18 months of campaigning to […]
Sheila Farmer, a sex worker who worked with other women from premises for safety had charges of brothel-keeping dismissed today in Croydon Crown Court. She worked with other women since being viciously raped and attacked whilst working alone. Ms Farmer left court with over 20 supporters delighted and relieved that she no longer faces a […]
Ms Sheila Farmer is facing a trial on 3 January 2012 at Croydon Crown Court. Please can you urgently write to the addresses below. Ms Sheila Farmer has been a diabetic since childhood and is seriously ill with a malignant brain tumour. Yet she has been charged with managing a brothel and is facing an […]
Mama Quilla shows that theatre still has the capacity to address public issues. —The GuardianOn 17 October 2009, Mama Quilla, funded by the Arts Council and Camden Council presented:”A Day of Debate and Performance. Should Prostitution Be Decriminalised?”As early as 2000, Westminster Council had made attempts to cleanse Soho of its sex workers by the compulsory […]
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 […]
A law intended to criminalise men who use prostitutes has led to just 43 convictions in England and Wales in its first year of operation. Figures released to the BBC show that in some regions not one man was convicted for having sex with a woman who had been forced into prostitution. Police say the […]
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 […]
Ms Morris says “I would like to thank everyone who gave their support, either in body or spirit, for my court case on 4 February. It is gratefully appreciated. This is a harrowing time for my family and I, but we are strengthened by knowing that people’s thoughts are with us. The case has been adjourned till […]