Sex workers have been in Soho, central London, for at least 200 years. During that time there has been constant attempts to arrest women and raid and close down the premises where we work. Since the 1980s women in Soho have been part of the ECP’s network and we have spearheaded campaigns against evictions and landgrabs. For example, in 2013, we mobilised against mass police raids which forced the closure of flats where women were working in relative safety. Most were re-opened, and the lie promoted by the police that the raids were aimed at saving victims of trafficking was thoroughly discredited.
On International Women’s Day 2020, sex workers and allies gathered in Soho to protest for decriminalisation. By Jake Hall; photos by Zeinab Batchelor In today’s world of corporate feminism and #girlboss tees, it’s easy to lose sight of what International Women’s Day actually represents. That was not the case in Soho on Sunday, where the streets were filled […]
The strike highlights the call by sex worker-led organisations across Europe for full decriminalisation of the industryBy Frankie Miren(Picture: Juno Mac/SWARM)This International Women’s Day, the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) is launching a campaign calling for all feminists to support sex workers. The campaign focuses on sex workers’ grassroots activism across Europe – […]
Demands for legislative changes to ‘make all women safe’By Tom FootWOMEN sex workers shut down Leicester Square in a protest calling for full decriminalisation.The strike on Friday night was part of the International Women’s Day protests and backed by the feminist movement and women’s groups across the country.Student sex workers also joined the protest, which […]
by Sophie HemeryCarried from the Bank of England to London’s Piccadilly Circus by drizzle, pop music and smoke grenades, 2019’s Women’s Strike march culminated in a performance by strippers demanding the full decriminalisation of sex work. Thousands of people danced with them, marking the end of an International Women’s Day (IWD) event that had sex workers at the […]
Sex workers are campaigning for the total decriminalisation of the industry, which they say would make prostitutes saferHundreds of prostitutes and their supporters marched through London last night on strike – protesting against unfair and unsafe working conditions.Huge crowds chanted ‘sex work is work’ and ‘no bad whores, just bad laws’ through the streets of […]
Last week, six massage parlours were stormed by police looking for “victims” so they could “take them to safety”. Often, this meant arresting women and putting them in detention centres. Frankie Mullin On Thursday the 20th of October, around midnight, police stormed six massage parlours in Soho and Chinatown, making arrests, padlocking doors and nailing […]
No bad women, just bad lawsWomen from the English Collective of Prostitutes and the Sex Workers Open University protest police attitudes to migrants sex workers. Sex workers don’t need a hero, they say, but to be treated like humans.Prostitution is a tricky subject. Most of us don’t talk about it, and if we do, it’s […]
Letter from the sex worker collective, Empower in Thailand to the UK Home Secretary protesting about the harm done to sex workers by raids done in the name of anti-trafficking.Dear Amber Rudd MP, Home Secretary,Empower Foundation, Thailand.Empower is a Thai organization promoting rights and opportunities for sex workers in Thailand for over 30 years. Empower is predominately […]
PROTESTS GROW OVER RAIDS & LANDGRABS IN CHINATOWN & SOHO What: Masked protest called by the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) with Sex Workers Open University (SWOU) and Sex Workers’ Opera (SWO) When: Monday 24 October, 12-1pm Where: Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF For more information: ECP, (020) 7482 2496, 07811 964171 ecp@prostitutescollective.net […]
privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.ukDear Amber Rudd MP, Home Secretary,I am writing to protest the raids and arrests of sex workers in Chinatown and Soho on the night of Thursday 20th October. The English Collective of Prostitutes has reported that 12 people were taken by immigration and 6 people were charged with controlling prostitution, an offence which penalises anyone who associates […]