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.
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 […]
Six premises in Chinatown and Soho, where sex workers were working, were raided last night. 18 people were arrested: 12 have been removed on immigration grounds, six for other offences. Thai women were particularly targeted. Westminster police slapped closure notices on the doors of premises and threw women out onto the street. They say they were targeting […]
PROTESTS GROW OVER RAIDS & LANDGRABS IN CHINATOWN & SOHO What: Protest organised by the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) with Sex Workers Open University and Sex Workers’ Opera 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 www.prostitutescollective.net Six […]
Prostitution ‘lies’: Soho sex workers protest over reporting guide for journalistsSOHO sex workers angrily protested against a “biased and inaccurate” guide to reporting for journalists on Wednesday.The new guide for journalists on prostitution and trafficking, written by controversial journalist and campaigner Julie Bindel, was branded as “misleading” and full of “lies” by the English Collective […]
CAROLINE MORTIMER SEX workers and campaigners held a candlelit procession through the streets of Soho to protest against “the worsening conditions in the borough and across the world”. The vigil was to mark International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers and the first anniversary of the raids on the Soho flats which saw 200 […]