By Frankie McCamley & Bethan Bell Violence has always stalked the streets where sex is bought and sold and sometimes just taken.Women employed in the “world’s oldest profession” face a very real danger. Jack the Ripper may have been consigned to history and folklore, but many other predatory men have stepped into his shadows.And the women […]
Financial turmoil is pushing people who work in the sex industry into more dangerous and desperate situations as a means of survival, reports Ella Glover.“I’m afraid to set any boundaries now and just feel like I have to cater to a client’s every need,” says Emily*, a sex worker from the UK. “The stakes of […]
The number of calls to the English Collective of Prostitutes – a grassroots organisation of sex workers – has surged by a third, figures have shownWomen are being forced into sex work in a desperate bid to make money amid the cost of living crisis.The north London-based organisation, which has helplines and national hubs in several major […]
More women are turning to sex work for the first time, while others who have managed to leave it behind are having to return in order to pay their bills, outreach workers have told Sky News.The cost of living crisis is pushing more women into sex work and leaving them unable to say no to […]
Image: English Collective of ProstitutesAusterity cuts, the introduction of the harsh Universal Credit scheme and the Hostile Environment has driven more people to sex work to meet their basic needs. Despite this, sex work remains a criminalised profession that is not recognised as legitimate work. The pandemic further exposes the injustice caused to sex workers […]
Jane Wharton ‘Draconian laws’ and increasing poverty have exposed sex workers to soaring rates of rape and assault, according to a leading pressure group. The English Collective of Prostitutes says two thirds had experienced violence within the last month alone. It has also highlighted that poverty sparked by benefit cuts have led to a surge […]
Written and oral evidence from the ECP to the Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry into Universal Credit and Survival Sex focused on the impact of austerity on levels of prostitution in the UK. The Committee published its findings in November 2019 and recommended action against some of the worst injustices of the benefit system such as draconian […]
‘I was in a desperate financial situation, no parents to support me and about to become homeless. As I am disabled and was in full-time education, my opportunities for work were, and remain, limited,’ says womanMaya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent @mayaoppenheimAusterity is pushing women into prostitution and the criminalisation of the industry is putting them in danger, according […]
Evidence that women are being driven to sex work because of problems with universal credit must lead to government action, MPs have said.A number of women told the work and pensions committee they turned to sex work because their benefits payments did not cover their basic needs.The committee said the government had previously been “dismissive” of […]
As the government faces calls to axe the five-week wait for Universal Credit payments, one ex-claimant describes her experience.One woman told Sky News she had been forced to sell sex for £5 after Universal Credit struggles.Women are being driven to carry out “survival sex” work because of the five-week wait for Universal Credit payments, MPs […]