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.
A new play by Lesley Delmenico, to be presented in London, is based on the transcript of a 1995 trial of a man accused of raping two prostitutes Lisa Longstaff from Women Against Rape, director Lesley Delmenico and Niki Adams from the English Collective of Prostitutes. Photograph: Sarah Lee The first-ever private prosecution for rape […]
DAN CARRIER WHEN two sex workers were raped at knifepoint by the same man and the Crown Prosecution Service did not act, the pair made legal history by using a private prosecution to get their attacker before a judge and jury themselves.Now the transcript of the groundbreaking 1995 legal case has become the basis of a […]
CAROLINE MORTIMER SEX workers and campaigners held a candlelit procession through the streets of Soho to protest against “the worsening conditions in the borough and across the world”. The vigil was to mark International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers and the first anniversary of the raids on the Soho flats which saw 200 […]
Yesterday was the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, and the London demo had last year’s excessive police raids on Soho’s working flats at the front of its mind. By Frankie Mullin Last night, I joined a march through Soho in support of sex workers. It’s an area of London that – despite what […]
Posted by Joana Ramiro SEX workers held a candle-lit march through London yesterday to remember fellow workers who have been victims of violence. Members of the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) held commemorations in Soho to mark the International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers. And they were joined by screen […]
Wednesday 17 December 20147pm (assemble 6.45pm) candlelit march — from Soho Square to St Anne’s Church.7.30pm Soho Trot by Ana Aranha. Documentary featuring powerful interviews and true testimonies from sex workers working independently in Soho flats who fought police raids and evictions, St Anne’s Church 55 Dean St. 8pm Speak Out featuring actors Rupert Everett […]
FILM SHOWING: TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER Director: Nick Broomfield (Ghosts and Battle for Haditha) 6.30pm, Curzon, Soho, 99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5DY Tales of the Grim Sleeper is an investigation into a notorious serial killer who terrorized South Central Los Angeles over 25 years, the women he targeted, and the efforts of the […]
By Frankie Miren “Last year, my friend was attacked by a client and was nervous to keep working alone, so I let her work from my place along with me, for safety,” says Toni of the Sex Worker Open University. “Unfortunately, we encountered another aggressive client who really frightened us. I threatened to ring the […]
Dear friends We are strongly opposed to the proposal to criminalise the purchase of sexual services. We would be grateful if you would consider our briefing paper below about the Modern Slavery Bill. The Modern Slavery Bill will result in more violence against women because: – It will make sex work more dangerous as women […]
Speakers highlight two recent sex worker-led struggles: the historic victory in California of sex workers winning compensation for rape, and the protests against mass raids and closures of sex workers’ flats in the red-light area of Soho, London, England. Hear how trafficking is being used as a justification for a moralistic crusade against sex workers […]