Sex Workers: Access to Justice webinar – 19 Nov
For a list of speakers and resources that were asked for during the webinar please see here.
Trafficking
Statement: Sex workers respond to feminist MP proposal to further criminalise prostitution
At the time of a pandemic when poverty, particularly among women and children has increased so massively, why is Diana Johnson and other women MPs focusing on proposals that will make women poorer. They urge the government to criminalise sex workers’ clients and crack down on online advertising sites without any consideration to the ways […]
Freedom United: Taking the trafficking out of sex work
Sex trafficking has long been separated from the broader crime of human trafficking. But some are beginning to question whether this separation is useful—or even whether it’s actively harmful. Sex workers’ rights advocates argue that the division makes it easier for people to conflate all sex work with trafficking, inspiring misled campaigns to eliminate sex […]
CEDAW General Recommendation on Trafficking of Women and Girls in the Context of Global Migration (TWGCGM) (2019-2020)
In 2019, CEDAW (Committee on The Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) called for contributions to its draft general recommendations on TWGCGM. The ECP’s written submission outlined the context of trafficking and sex work in the UK, including the impact of Brexit, the Government’s policy of austerity cuts and a hostile environment for migrants which forces […]
OpenDemocracy: The fight to decriminalise sex work
COVID-19 threatens both the lives and livelihoods of sex workers yet governments look the other way. A new publication seeks to help sex workers get their attention. Decriminalisation debates remain central to discussions about how to best address human trafficking. At the heart of these considerations are questions around whether trafficking can best be […]
All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Commercial Sexual Exploitation: inquiry into trafficking for sexual exploitation (2019)
As a follow up to the Government commissioned review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the APPG launched its call for evidence on whether the legal framework of Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) “makes it a more attractive destination for those involved in trafficking adults for the purpose of sexual exploitation”. The ECP’s evidence detailed […]
Independent: Sex work to be decriminalised in Mexico City in bid to cut trafficking
‘Exercising sexuality in our country is still a taboo topic that few of us dare to talk about’Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent @mayaoppenheim Lawmakers in Mexico City’s congress on Friday voted 38-0, with eight abstentions, in favour of a bill to remove a line in the civic culture law which said prostitutes and their clients can be […]
Vice: Sex Workers Are Having Their Earnings Confiscated in Trafficking Stings
Raids – or “welfare visits” – carried out by police are supposedly conducted for safety, but they’re harming sex workers and failing to identify genuine victims. Anti-trafficking raids are often framed as vital rescue missions undertaken to save victims of modern slavery. However, according to Niki Adams – an English Collective of Prostitutes [ECP] spokesperson […]
ATMO: Why Prostitution Should Be Decriminalised
The English Collective of Prostitutes is an organisation that campaigns for sex workers’ safety and the decriminalisation of prostitution. It’s run by sex workers, for sex workers and is dedicated to supporting women who choose to earn a living in the sex industry, as well as those who want to get out of it.Legislation surrounding paid for […]
Red Pepper: Criminalising sex work won’t help victims of trafficking
Laws which target sex workers are supposedly set up to protect women. But really, they put vulnerable women in more danger.By Stella Winter and Liliana Gashi from English Collective of ProstitutesA rally for sex worker rights during the Women’s Strike, 8th March 2018. Photo by Juno Mac.After the introduction of SESTA-FOSTA in the US set the precedent for policing online sex work, […]