Sex workers face a lot of violence. Sex workers in London are 12 times more likely to be murdered than other women. It is much safer to work indoors with others but this is illegal.
Criminalisation increases violence. Attacks on sex workers doubled in Scotland after kerb crawling laws were introduced which criminalised clients. A 2014 survey found that where arrests of sex workers and clients were high, only 5% of sex workers who were victims of a crime reported it. This compared to 46% of victims in areas where police adopted a harm reduction approach.
“Some were prostitutes but perhaps the saddest part of the case is that some were not. The last six attacks were on totally respectable women.” – Sir Michael Havers, Attorney General.On 13 November 2020, Peter Sutcliffe, also known as the Yorkshire Ripper, died in prison. If you didn’t know who he was, you could get an […]
‘Let’s face it, it was an inner-city hole and you had to watch your back’Maeve Murphy’s short film about life in a pre-gentrified King’s Cross has been showered with awards. Angela Cobbinah talked to herBy Angela CobbinahIN 1979, the old Camden Journal carried a lurid double-page feature on the Hillview estate, slum Victorian tenement blocks […]
The new Netflix docuseries shines a light on how the victims of the Long Island serial killer were treated with contempt by the police — 30 years on, and it seems very little has changedBy Brit Dawson Published: 09 April 2025 At around 5AM on May 1, 2010, Shannan Gilbert — a 23-year-old sex worker from […]
Maeve Murphy is hoping to shine a spotlight on the 1981 murder of a sex worker in her new short film, exploring the powerful protest by the English Collective of Prostitutes and the ongoing battle against police brutality.“15 women, some with children, have locked themselves in Holy Cross Church of Kings Cross. They won’t leave […]
Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia Sex workers in the UK speak out after Belgium grants people in the industry employment rights in historic first Under a new law in Belgium – the first of its kind in the world – sex workers have been given employment rights. They will be entitled to official employment […]
We know policing often harms sex workers. We need to talk about what it would take to change tack Jyoti Belur Ella Cockbain Policing often harms sex workers. That’s not up for debate – copious academic research and sex worker-led advocacy and research demonstrate that. But we’re not actually sure why law enforcement behaves […]
In December 2022 Newham Council issued a consultation on its proposal to bring in a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in the Romford Road.The justification for the PSPO was that sex workers were:“. . . offering sexual services to passersby, engaging in sexual activities in public spaces” and that clients were kerb-crawling and that this […]
Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) has issued an online consultation on its Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2023- 2026.The deadline for responses is 1 Jan 2024.It asks you to comment on four priorities and then gives you an opportunity to “suggest any other priorities or anything else you feel we should consider […]
ECP’s Niki Adams speaking at the protest called by Women Against Rape and Women of Colour Global Women’s Strike on 6 February 2023 outside the sentencing hearing of David Carrick, a former police officer who committed numerous offences of rape and other torture against women. For more info see: The David Carrick Trial – Women Against Rape
Airbnb host caught on camera threatening to ‘smack’ guest in faceThe man accused two women renting his flat of being ‘prostitutes’ and said no one would believe their complaintsLauren Crosby Medlicott