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.
This isn’t about whether sex work is uniquely degrading or empowering – it’s about the reality of 70,000 women who today will exchange sex for money and who are not being protected by the lawNiki Adams Spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes Sheila started selling sex to pay off debts and support her son after […]
English collective says laws forcing women to work alone expose them to violence Sarah Marsh Prostitution should be decriminalised in the UK to make it safer for vulnerable women, a sex worker organisation has said. The English Collective of Prostitutes is calling for the removal of laws relating to consensual adult sexual behaviour, arguing […]
UPDATE: Survey deadline has been extended to Thursday 31 May. If you live, work or travel to Brighton & Hove, please urgently respond to this action alert and share with your networks.: Note: Many of the consultation survey questions are multiple choice, but please raise the points below where possible. Information not submitted through this format […]
“We wanted to remind people these are women, these are human beings, they have their own realities.”Sophie WilkinsonDoes scary stuff happen on the way? Does stuff jump out at you?” a tourist asks our guide, who informs her it’s not that sort of tour. Because though we’re in east London, close to the scene of […]
Sex workers and entertainers claim that police are more interested in criminalising them than investigating crimes committed against them, and also have reported vastly different approaches in policing up and down the country.Hannah Al-Othman When Maria was robbed at knifepoint in her bedroom by men who stole hundreds of pounds in cash from her, she called […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 11, 2018Contact: Minouche Kandel, (415) 572-6482, minouche.kandel@sfgov.orgSAN FRANCISCO ANNOUNCES FIRST-IN-THE-COUNTRY POLICIES TO SUPPORT SEX WORKERS WHO ARE VICTIMS OR WITNESSES TO VIOLENCE IN REPORTING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT“Prioritizing Safety for Sex Worker” policies would protect a sex worker reporting a violent crime from arrest or prosecution for prostitution or minor drug offensesSan […]
The English Collective of Prostitutes gives help and advice to sex workers fighting criminal charges, civil orders, and in trying to get justice against violence. The criminalisation of sex work makes it harder for sex workers to work safely by forcing us to work in isolation. Frequently women come to the ECP complaining that the […]
This year on 17 December we remember and commemorate the sex workers who have been killed across the globe in 2017, and the countless others whose names never made the headlines.Women and non-binary people across the world live under the constant threat of violence and, for sex workers, this is heightened by illegality and stigma.Since […]
On 17th December, International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (#IDEVASW), thousands of sex workers and sex worker-led organisations around the world will gather to commemorate the sex workers who have lost their lives in the last year. Last year, the list included more than 150 sex workers murdered between 1st January and 1st […]