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.
(Reuters) – Sex workers in London are being forced to slash prices they charge clients because of the impact of the recession on the British economy and an influx of foreign competition, putting themselves at greater risk of attack, according to a report.The study by the Westminster City Council, the local authority which covers much […]
Labelling attacks against prostitutes as hate crimes could end the agony of those who suffer in silence, police have been told. Complaints by sex workers about violence are rare because they are either not taken seriously or treated as an occupational hazard. Labelling attacks as hate crimes would oblige police to investigate the crime rather […]
In January 2012, Sheila Farmer was prosecuted for keeping/ managing a brothel (SOA 2003). Ms Farmer became a single mother at aged 23. With great difficulty she trained and got work as a computer programmer but after she lost her eyesight and developed a brain tumour as a result of childhood diabetes, she turned to […]
In Somalia, Lul Ali Osman Barake was sentenced to a year in jail after reporting rape by a gang of men in military fatigues. She described being raped twice, first by the military, second by the judicial system. Following an international outcry, the verdict was quashed on appeal (Report, 8 March). Rape victims in Britain […]
Over 2000 people, mainly women, sallied down Piccadilly for the second London Slutwalk on 22 September. Home-made placards ruled from ‘Sluts & Plebs Unite’ to ‘Compensate Rape Survivors, not Banks’. Many reflected fury at police, prosecutors and courts which ensure that ‘97% of all rapists won’t spend a day behind bars’.At the rally in Trafalgar […]
Hundreds of women are expected to take part in a march in central London today to protest the way the legal system lets down victims of rape. SlutWalk will see campaigners, some in their underwear, march from Piccadilly to Trafalgar Square, where there will be a rally. The protest is part of the global SlutWalk […]
Join us at SlutWalk on Saturday 22 Sept 12.30. We’ll be gathering at the top of Piccadilly (Hyde Park end) to join the march to Trafalgar Square and the rally. Look out for our bright pink banner! SlutWalk supports sex workers’ right to safety. Speakers include rape survivors fighting for justice, the ECP and Sheila Farmer […]
Dear Editor,Minister Lynne Featherstone claims that the National Ugly Mugs scheme, which publishes on line descriptions of violent men, “encourages sex workers to report violent incidents”. (“Sex workers and police join forces to create rapist database” Guardian, 5 July 2012) But sex workers are already reporting and are being prosecuted for prostitution offences while their […]
The tragic murders of five young women in Ipswich caused an unprecedented outcry. Each of us deserves to be safe regardless of gender, occupation, sexual preference, race, age, nationality, immigration status or lifestyle. Prostitution is a survival strategy to deal with poverty, debt, rape, low wages, homelessness, unemployment… Most sex workers are mothers or young […]
By English Collective of Prostitutes and Legal Action for Women The exclusion zone imposed on a suspected rapist of prostitute women in Birmingham is a striking example of the summary justice promoted by Tony Blair.[i] The police justify it by saying they don’t have enough evidence to prosecute, even though he has been identified by four […]