English Collective of Prostitutes

The English Collective of Prostitutes is a self-help organisation of sex workers, working both on the street and in premises, with a national network throughout the UK. We campaign for the decriminalisation of prostitution, for sex workers’ rights and safety, and for resources to enable people to get out of prostitution if they want to.

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Carers, mothers and sex workers: who cares about women's work?

Who cares about women's work? Discussing care, Wages for Housework and valuing feminised labour, Ray is joined by Selma James, coordinator of the Global Women's Strike and author of Sex, Race and Clas

ECP's Cari Mitchell and Selma James, Global Women's Strike discuss caring, Wages for Housework and valuing feminised labour on Killjoy FM show 'Carers, mothers and sex workers: who cares about women's work?' Podcast now online

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John McDonnell is a better gender equality campaigner than his MP critics

Women at the top of the party are no guarantee of representation at the bottom, six female activists argue.

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Peter Walkey is facing trial on TUESDAY 30 August (Woolwich Crown Court) for managing a brothel because he let a woman use a room in his house to work. She wanted to be safe and he wanted to help. For … Continue reading →

ACTION ALERT! Peter Walkey is facing trial on Tuesday 30 August (Woolwich Crown Court) for managing a brothel because he let a woman use a room in his house to work. She wanted to be safe and he wanted to help. For that he risks a criminal conviction and possible prison.

There is no public interest in prosecuting Mr Walkey. Please write urgently to demand the prosecution is dropped.

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Hande Kader: Outcry in Turkey over transgender woman's murder - BBC News

The brutal murder of transgender activist Hande Kader in Turkey prompts an outcry and will fuel a rare protest on Sunday to be attended by prominent figures.

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Fantastic support for decriminalisation at Trans Pride Brighton on Saturday! If you didn't get the chance to sign the pledge on the day, please visit www.pledgedecrim.com

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This is what it's like to be a sex worker in the UK

In years gone by, sex workers might have been viewed by society as people to be pitied, mocked or even judged, with whispered stereotypes about ‘fallen women’ dominating discourse. But recent cultural shifts have seen the tide turn towards viewing sex work as a human rights issue with workers’ safety the core concern. Now, it appears the UK may be on the cusp of making the historic decision to decriminalise prostitution.

Interview with ECP spokeswoman Laura Watson on what life is like for sex workers under the current prostitution laws

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Why More and More Young Women Are Getting Arrested for Prostitution | Broadly

Exclusive police figures show a 191 percent increase in the number of 18 to 25-year-old women arrested for prostitution in London. Why are young sex workers getting apprehended by cops?

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Home Affairs Select Committee recommends decriminalisation of sex workers

Dear Friends,

Last week the results of an Inquiry by the Home Affairs Select Committee were published. To the astonishment of many people who had protested the Inquiry’s biased terms of reference, the Committee recommended that sex workers on the street and working together in premises should be decriminalised. It also called for criminal records to be expunged. This is a major victory for the movement for decriminalisation nationally and internationally. Our statement on the recommendations and some press coverage is below.

ECP statement.

The Guardian.

The Independent.

BBC Radio 4 Today Programme. Starts at 6.50. Vice Magazine.

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National charity warns of 'seismic shift towards criminalisation' of Hackney's sex workers - Hackney Citizen

Sex workers are increasingly subject to enforcement by police and local authorities in the form of dispersal orders, fines and prosecution

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Sex Workers in Hackney Can't Get Support Unless The Police Are Involved | VICE | United Kingdom

'They've set the clock back 10 years': sex worker NGOs are worried that support for addicts is being tied in to enforcement.

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Decriminalisation of sex workers recommended by Home Affairs Select Committee

July 1, 2016

The English Collective of Prostitutes welcomes the report from the Home Affairs Select Committee which recommends that sex workers on the street and working together in premises should be decriminalised. A report of an evidence gathering symposium we organised in Parliament last November is also published today. It is the most comprehensive compilation of evidence presented in the UK on the: devastating impact of criminalisation on sex workers; the success of decriminalisation as recounted by sex workers who live within that legal model; the terrible injustices caused by the criminalisation of  clients in Sweden; how austerity has increased prostitution.

Laura Watson commented.

There should be an immediate moratorium on arrests, raids and prosecutions. Just today we heard from a woman whose premises was raided and closed. All her accounts have been frozen and she was left with £50 to feed her children pending charges for brothel-keeping being brought against her. Civil orders against street based sex workers such as Section 35 dispersal orders must also be abolished and the Home Office should withdraw from cases we are fighting where Romanian sex workers are facing deportation on grounds that sex work is not a ‘legitimate form of work’”.

We call on the Home Affairs Select Committee to go further and repeal all the laws that put sex workers in danger. New Zealand decriminalised in 2003 with verifiable success. Amnesty International did a comprehensive examination of the impact of the law to criminalise clients in Norway and found that sex workers face forced evictions, surveillance, prosecutions and increased stigma. Migrant workers are disproportionally targeted. Shockingly “police are using sex workers reports of violence and crimes against them as evidence to facilitate their eviction and/or deportation.”

We are drafting legislation to decriminalise prostitution in the UK which will be ready to present in the autumn. We ask to meet with committee members as soon as possible to discuss how this should be framed in line with their recommendations.

English Collective of Prostitutes Crossroads Women’s Centre 25 Wolsey Mews London NW5 2DX Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]

[email protected] prostitutescollective.net

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At Last! MPs Are Calling for Sex Workers to Be Decriminalised | VICE | United Kingdom

This is an unprecedented step towards ensuring better, safer working conditions for the UK's 72,800 sex workers.

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Decriminalisation of sex workers in England and Wales backed by MPs

Home affairs select committee wants law changed so sex workers are allowed to share premises while urging crackdown on those who exploit sex workers

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5 Things we learned from the Student Sex Work Survey @ NUS connect

In February the Women’s Campaign and the LGBT+ campaign worked with the Sex Workers Open University and the English Collective of Prostitutes to launch a survey to gather information on the lives and experiences of students’ sex workers. Today we are launching the results of the report with recommendations to help better support students working in the sex industry to fight the discrimination, stigma and violence they face. 1. Cost of Living and Fees Over half of respondents (67%) described how they were motivated to go into the sex industry in order to pay for living expenses such as food and bills. This was followed by paying the rent (53%) and to fund consumption such as clothes and books (51%). 35% said that their sex work was used to pay for leisure activity or to pay for their university fees and around a quarter (26%) said it was to reduce debt at the end of their course or to avoid getting into debt. 2. Disabled Sex Workers Over half (55%) the sample considered themselves to have a specific learning disability, other disability, impairment or long-term health condition. 35% of respondents also said that having a mental and/or physical disability was one of the reasons that they had remained in the sex industry. 3. Student sex workers’ thoughts on legislation In England and Wales sex work is not in itself illegal - but a number of laws criminalise activities around it. Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, it is an offence to cause or incite ‘prostitution’ or control it for personal gain. When asked about what legal changes they would support- the majority of respondents said that they would support the decriminalisation of sex work (75%), followed by legalisation (27%) and criminalisation of clients paying for sex (18%). 4. Safety at work and the police Respondents said they were reluctant to go to the police if they had experienced a crime whilst working in the sex industry. 48% of respondents said they would feel very uncomfortable going to the police if they had experienced property theft, violence and sexual violence at the hands of clients and /or management. 5. SUs and institutions can do much more to support student sex workers We asked respondents whether they thought the support they received from their students’ union and institution was sufficient. Less than 15% of respondents thought their institution or students’ union was providing sufficient support. We also asked whether they would like any other information from their university or students’ union. Responses included: information on sex work to raise awareness about student sex workers in the institution, information on student sex workers’ rights, information about campaigns and activism around sex workers’ rights, advice around how to reduce stigma and information on student sex work support networks. This research draws upon and adds to the findings and recommendations of The Student Sex Work Project (TSSWP) report and will be followed by more detailed qualitative analysis of the particular experiences of women and LGBT+ student sex workers. For more information about the findings of the report, contact [email protected] Read the Student Sex Worker Research here.

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Free special event! UK Première of 1975 Documentary: Les prostituées de Lyon parlent

The English Collective of Prostitutes and the Sex Worker Open University present, with Club des Femmes: UK Première of 1975 Documentary: Les prostituées de Lyon parlent – The prostitu…

The English Collective of Prostitutes and the Sex Worker Open University present, with Club des Femmes: UK Première of 1975 Documentary: Les prostituées de Lyon parlent (The prostitutes of Lyon speak) FREE SCREENING Plus: Footage and interviews of the 1982 occupation of the Holy Cross Church in the red light area of King’s Cross, London, by the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) followed by Q+A panel with ECP and SWOU.

Facebook event HERE

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London's Romanian Sex Workers Are Worried That Brexit Would Screw Them | VICE | United Kingdom

They're currently using EU law to assert their rights to stay in the country and say that sex work is work.

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MPs should heed call to decriminalise sex work | Letter from the English Collective of Prostitutes

Letters: We urge the government and the home affairs committee to take notice and follow Amnesty’s lead. Sex workers safety and lives depend on prompt action

Our letter in The Guardian supporting Amnesty International