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. See more here: ‘Soho Fights’.
Court rejects sex workers’ claims they were not being controlled and were safer than on streetsPaul PeacheyTwo sex workers lost their legal battle against Scotland Yard on Monday after claiming that the mass closure of brothels in the heart of London’s red-light district put them at greater risk of attack.Eighteen brothels were shuttered after raids […]
by WILLIAM McLENNAN SEX workers will be forced on to the street if a “draconian” ruling that shut down their flat is not reversed, a court heard.Two sex workers are taking the Metropolitan Police Service to court to appeal a closure order that was granted against a “walk-up flat” in Lisle Street.Police were granted the order, […]
Violence against sex workers is increasing. Tragically, two sex workers have been murdered in London in the past three months. At the same time, the police have stepped up raids, arrests and closures of premises where women are working in relative safety. This is despite senior police officers admitting that: “[police] operations to tackle the […]
Three men recently attacked my date and I in London’s gay village Soho. They threw coins and shouted “faggot”. I think gentrification partly prompted their resentment. Recently, I was on a date. It was dinner with this guy I’d met at a party, and afterwards we strolled to the train station, stopping every couple […]
We welcome Rupert Everett’s perceptive article and his support for sex workers (see here). Please also see Mariana Popa was killed working as a prostitute. Are the police to blame? by Diane Taylor and Mark Townsend about the policing of prostitution. Mr Everett’s article describes a Closure Order on a sex worker’s flat being granted […]
The prostitutes of London’s red-light district are being evicted. Here, Rupert Everett argues, with wit and vehemence, that closing down the brothels has nothing to do with protecting women The other night I watched Stephen Ward at the Aldwych Theatre, a morality musical about the destruction of an innocent man by the combined forces of Her Majesty’s […]
In December 2013, 250 police raided sex worker’s flats in Soho (central London). Over 20 flats were closed and women were handcuffed and dragged in their underwear onto the streets. The ECP and Soho Working Girls organised intensively against the closures, getting legal advice and publicising the injustice of the raids. 18 of the 20 […]
A TOP detective has denied any connection between police raids on brothels and plans to redevelop Soho – instead claiming the operation was inspired by American crime drama The Wire.Detective Superintendent Kevin Southworth was forced to defend the recent raids – which involved more than 40 premises in Soho – during a fiery debate in […]
WHAT THE VICTIMS OF THE POLICE RAIDS HAVE REPORTED TO THE ENGLISH COLLECTIVE OF PROSTITUTES AND LEGAL ACTION FOR WOMEN “Forty officers came into our building, approximately 20 went upstairs and 20 came into our flat. They were dressed in full riot gear, with dogs — everything but guns. They broke down our door even […]
A Closure Order against a flat in Tisbury Court, Soho, was thrown out of court this morning. District Judge Barrie found that insufficient steps had been taken to contact the owner of the premises. This decision is in contrast to the rulings of District Judge Susan Williams who presided over approximately ten other closure order […]