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.
By Andy McFarlanePolice searches evoked memories of the Yorkshire Ripper murdersThe discovery of the remains of a woman – sparking police searches in Bradford’s red light district – has brought back chilling memories of the 1970s.Back then, it took six years to find and convict Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, for killing 13 women – […]
A man has been charged with the murder of three women in Bradford. When will sex workers’ safety be prioritised? The discovery of a woman’s body, now confirmed to be that of Suzanne Blamires, has focussed press attention on the disappearances of three women in Bradford. Stephen Griffiths has been charged with their murder. Our […]
Preventing sex workers operating together makes them more vulnerable to attack – we need a more pragmatic approachThe laws governing sex for sale are clear – it is legal for one person to sell sex to another as long as elements including soliciting, trafficking, coercion and under-18s are not involved. However, if sex workers operate […]
A malicious prosecution with a happy ending. On Thursday 29 April 2010, in Luton Crown Court, Claire Finch was found NOT GUILTY of a criminal charge of keeping a brothel. The jury, in line with public opinion, refused to criminalise Ms Finch for working together with friends from her own home for safety. Ms Finch, her friends […]
Government accused of driving women on to the streets by cracking down on high-class escort agencies, reports Robert VerkaikTheirs is a world away from grubby net curtains and phone box calling cards. They offer dinner dates, online credit card bookings, intelligent conversation and companionship – and perhaps an illicit rendezvous in a stylish apartment for […]
Siobhain ButterworthReaders EditorThe Guardian10 November 2009 Dear Siobhain Butterworth We wish to submit a complaint about misinformation reported in the Guardian following Nick Davies’s excellent investigation on figures of women trafficked into the sex industry. 1. Denis MacShane MP claims that the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) “grew out of the Wages for Housework campaign started by […]
Policing & Crime Bill: Prostitution proposals detrimental to safetyAs measures on prostitution in the Policing and Crime Bill are discussed this week, we respectfully ask Members of the House of Lords to consider our arguments on women’s safety and why we oppose Clauses 16 (loitering), 17 (‘rehabilitation’) and 21 (closure orders), as well as Clause […]
The “war” with Denis MacShane on Newsnight was not about statistics but about the policies the statistics were invented to justify. New Labour legislation would increase police powers against both sex workers and clients. Now that the figures have been discredited, MacShane calls them ‘futile’.Paxman was not “hostile”; he was Paxman. But MacShane was confronted […]
BY RACHEL WESTTaking advantage of the recent turmoil over the huge city budget cuts, Mayor Gavin Newsom and Sup. Carmen Chu, have pushed though malicious legislation imposing criminal charges and restrictions on massage parlors. Many are outraged that this costly legislation was prioritized — we want to know why it was, and how much it […]
Protect workers’ safety! Stop the closure of massage parlors! Stop targeting immigrant sex workers!Under the pretence of stopping sex trafficking, Supervisor Carmen Chu and Mayor Newsom want to impose criminal charges and exorbitant fines on massage parlors despite workers’ concerns that it will push the industry underground making them more vulnerable to violence and exploitation. […]