Sex workers say advertising online has made them safer. MPs see it differentlyBy KELLY FIVEASHFor Britain’s sex workers, the threat of new legislation is all too real. Recent calls from MPs to ensure that prostitution websites “cannot financially benefit from exploited women” have caused anxiety among sex workers, who say that advertising their services online has […]
With FOSTA/SESTA already proving to be damaging in the US, why is the UK looking to push through similar legislation?Photoa via VICE UK”Decriminalise sex work, for safety’s sake.”This was one of many slogans being hurled at the House of Commons Wednesday afternoon, by a roughly 200-strong collection of sex workers and activists. They’ve come out […]
In 2018, the Government commissioned an independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The ECP submitted evidence of how despite millions of pounds of funding, victims of trafficking get little or no help from the authorities. Instead, anti-trafficking is used as a justification for police raids and arrests. This isolates sex workers and makes […]
Breaking news: a self-appointed group of MPs, that got together for the sole purpose of lobbying for the criminalisation of sex workers’ clients, conduct Inquiry and recommend the criminalisation of clients! No surprise there then.Cari Mitchell, spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes, commented:“Criminalisation, whether of sex workers or clients, drives prostitution further underground, increasing […]
UPDATE: Good news, WRC took out the criminalisation of clients from the CEDAW shadow report but new wording is still problematic: “We recommend that the government recognise prostitution as a form of violence against women and girls, rather than legitimising the purchase of access to women’s bodies as a form of commerce.” Please respond with your […]
Niki Adams and Heston Michaels, English Collective of ProstitutesPolice crackdowns on prostitution isolate sex workers and undermine their safety. With poverty fuelling prostitution, the English Prostitutes Collective argues decriminalisation is overdue and current resources used to police consenting sex should be redirected into investigating rape and other violent crimesWe face saturation policing but no protection” […]
Frankie Mullin “Pop-up brothels” full of trafficked women are sweeping the country, according to a spate of recent reports. In Newquay, police say they’ve located 14 since July (reported by the Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail, Mirror); in Swindon there are said to be 30 opening a week (Telegraph, BBC, Metro). The Sun recapped the stories […]
We are writing to express our serious concerns about a number of joint UK Border Agency and police operations targeting migrant sex workers which took place during the week commencing 17th October, the week during which Anti-Slavery Day, 18th October 2016, is marked.On Thursday 20th October in Soho and Chinatown, London, six premises were raided […]
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 […]