links to articles

First arrest made under Northern Ireland's new offence of paying for sex Chief constable reveals man and three women have been arrested in brothel raid as sex worker steps up legal fight to overturn controversial law Guardian 05/11/15 Henry McDonald. One man and three women? If the new Northern Ireland law is like the Swedish law why were three women arrested? Aren't the sex workers supposed not to get arrested? Not only are the sex workers arrested, but it seems they are arrested more often than the men.

Swedish sex workers are tormented by the threat of eviction Pye Jakobsson, co-founder of the Rose Alliance, a Swedish sex workers’ organisation, says that of her group’s nine board members, three have been thrown out of their homes Guardian 08/08/14 Michelle Goldberg

In this prostitution debate, listen to sex workers not Hollywood stars Amnesty found that sex workers in Norway were routinely evicted by the police Guardian 03/08/15 Molly Smith

The Problem With the "Swedish Model" for Sex Work Laws While sex workers are not prosecuted simply for selling sex under the Swedish model, various laws continue to be used against them in punitive ways New Republic 08/06/16 Molly Smith

Students turn to sex work to make ends meet at university, study finds Research shows one in 20 students has worked in sex industry to fund lifestyles, just get by or reduce debts, with more men than women involved The Guardian 27/03/15

If Europe votes for the 'Swedish model' on prostitution, women will be at risk Whether you criminalise buyers or criminalise sellers, the impact on sex workers is the same. It's time for a truce in this debate The Guardian 24/02/14 Diane Taylor

Closure of Soho brothels raises risks for women, says local priest Police operation condemned with claims that it will 'push sex workers back on to the streets' The Guardian/Observer 23/02/14

Sex Law Expert Belinda Brooks-Gordon: Why the Nordic Model of Prostitution Does Not Work International Business Times 27/01/14 Hannah Osbourne

Canada Supreme Court strikes down prostitution laws The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously struck down the nation's anti-prostitution laws BBC News 20/12/13

The brothel worker: 'I regret not working in the sex trade as soon as I got here' Posing as a maid, Hsiao-Hung Pai infiltrated the murky world of the UK sex trade and spoke to some of the migrant mothers desperately working to send money home to their families Guardian 15/04/13 Hsiao-Hung Pai
It shows that trafficking is a myth. Women come from China to work in catering or other low paid jobs. After a couple of years some of them find out about sex work and some of them decide to try it. Those who try it usually wish that they'd found out about it earlier.

information about Sweden's sex laws

Men buy sex for many reasons - as a sex worker, I can tell you they don't deserve to be criminalised Labour MSP Rhoda Grant's wants to introduce ‘the Swedish model’ to Scotland. But criminalising the purchase of sex is not the way to help sex workers Independent 05/04/13 Laura Lee

Sex for Sale Litro 07/02/13 Patricia Duffaud

Why Comic Relief's prostitution claims put me off donating The sort of broad-brush claims made by the charity often indicates a potentially damaging approach to addressing needs Guardian 13/03/13 Dr Brooke Magnanti
She exposes some of the false statistics about trafficking. 75% of women working in prostitution started before they were 18. The average age of entry into sex work is 13. Wrong!

Lady in waiting There's a lot to deal with when you're running a flat for London's working girls - not least the public's perception of the oldest profession. Soho madam, Wendy, gives an extraordinarily frank account of her job, involving MPs and Mr Muscle Time Out 02/05/06 Lucy Powell
This is an old article but I've only just found it. A Soho maid talks about prostitution in Soho.

This strange neo-Victorian desire to save prostitutes and porn actresses Sex work isn’t stigmatised because it is dangerous. Sex work is dangerous because it is stigmatised. New Statesman 13/12/12 Laurie Penny

Do we actually want to rid Europe of its sex workers? Treating prostitution as a scourge conveniently ignores the fact that people are not plying their trade in a vacuum The Guardian 09/12/12 Libby Brooks

Brighton massage parlour owner praises jail sentence for armed robbers The Argus 29/08/12 Anna Roberts

People smugglers target their victims as organ donors and house slaves First official study breaks down reasons for trafficking in UK The Observer 26/08/12 Jamie Doward
The picture that emerges contrasts strongly with the popular perception that trafficking is predominantly for the purposes of prostitution.

Olympics crackdown on sex trade condemned by Stop the Arrests Belle de Jour author Brooke Magnanti backs campaign group warning that police are putting lives at risk Guardian 09/06/12 Jamie Doward

Three Polish women admit to running Belfast brothel Guilty pleas follow cross-border operation criticised for failing to distinguish between trafficked women and voluntary sex workers Guardian 30/05/12 Henry McDonald
It seems that 3 women chose to work together from a flat for safety and have been prosecuted for it. These prosecutions make women less safe. What do the authorities want, another killing spree from a multiple murderer? That's what these women are being set up for.

The Sex Myth: Why Everything We're Told is Wrong by Brooke Magnanti – review Guardian 15/04/12 Catherine Hakim

Brothel ban is illegal, Ontario court rules Court of appeal says ban on brothels puts prostitutes in danger in ruling that could set precedent for rest of Canada Guardian 26/03/12

Met police sex trafficking investigations criticised Report accuses officers of 'heavy handed' approach to brothel raids and of failing to find trafficking victims Guardian 19/03/12 Diane Taylor

Call for change in law to protect prostitutes from violent crime Brothel attacks prompt debate whether police priority should be prosecuting sex workers or catching dangerous criminals Guardian 16/01/12 Owen Bowcott
There is a photo of the doorway of a walk up in Berwick Street. The photographer must have moved the sign though because it has never been on the front door but up the stairs. This article and the following one show how dangerous life is for British prostitutes, unlike New Zealand ones.

Life is hard enough for prostitutes without our work being criminalised The government claims it needs to make cuts but squanders huge amounts of money prosecuting women like me Guardian 07/01/12 Sheila Farmer
The police use trafficking as an excuse to hound prostitutes. But in my experience, victims of trafficking are rare and don't get the support they need. Most working women are like you and me, trying to earn a living. Since the 2002 Proceeds of Crime Act, which allows police to seize our money and our goods, arrests have skyrocketed.

A sanctuary for sex workers Nun Lynda Dearlove provides shelter and a sense of family life for sex workers in central London. And despite a pre-Olympics cleanup, the problem is steadily getting worse. Guardian 05/01/12 Joanna Moorhead
"Camden Council claims King's Cross was 'cleaned up' ahead of the opening of the Channel tunnel rail link – but that's not the case," she says. "Prostitution is a lot less visible round here than it used to be, but it's definitely still here. Exactly where and how the women work I'd rather not say, because I might put them at risk – but it certainly is happening."

Law Change ‘Would Protect Prostitutes’ usecmagazine 17/01/12
A series of gang attacks on brothels in east London has triggered calls for changes to the prostitution laws after victims who reported knifepoint robberies said they ended up being threatened with prosecution.

Majority of sex workers 'not forced or trafficked' Evening Standard 28/10/11 Martin Bentham

Met 'is too severe in shutting brothels' Evening Standard 14/10/11 Craig Woodhouse

Crossbow Cannibal: 'He killed because it was easy' Guardian 05/03/11 Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy
Women are more vulnerable now than in the past due to laws such as the Policing and Crime Act 2009. Some women's groups don't want a change in the law to make women safer because they see that 'as legitimising the abuse of women'.

Mother accused of kerb crawling on way to drama class: Police report 'offence' to her boss Daily Mail 06/01/11 Chris Brooke

Regulating sex industry would protect women, says police chief Independent 29/12/10 Jerome Taylor

Italy to combat prostitution by cutting trees Abruzzo targets trees to force sex workers off the Bonifica del Tronto road Guardian 12/10/10 John Hooper
Would be funny if it wasn't serious.

Britain's sex trade needs tackling Guardian 06/09/10 Denis MacShane
Not a good article, but like so many newspaper articles online has lots of interesting comments. Many of these comments have interesting links. The best comments are from NikiA (Niki Adams of ECP) and undersinged. If you click on these links you need to wait a few seconds before you are directed to the comment.

UK brothel users escape crackdown on forced prostitution Police count of trafficked sex workers prompts new debate on extent of illegal trade in UK Guardian 18/08/10 Robert Booth
Only 3 men have been cautioned, none convicted. Also mentions new ACPO figures for trafficking.

Police report into brothels dismissed as 'amateurish' Independent 15/08/10 Joan Smith / Emily Dugan
More about the recent ACPO report on trafficking. Fewer trafficked women than formerly thought.

Sex workers 'named and shamed' on Met police website Prostitutes and support groups censure operation to 'out' women Guardian 06/08/10 Diane Taylor
Police raided flat, took photos of women who were not charged, photos were shown in News of the World. Photos, full names and dates of birth appear on police website. One woman a child minder and cleaner, does some sex work to make ends meet.

Home Office figures for Sarah's law – fact or fiction? Claims that 60 children have been protected from child abuse by pilot scheme are impossible to verify Guardian 06/08/10 Ben Goldacre
Not about prostitution. I only include this because it just goes to show how the Home Office fabricate statistics. Statistics that organizations like Eaves call official.

How society allows the murder of its most vulnerable women Sex workers have rights, says Cari Mitchell, they are vulnerable, and they must not be pushed into the shadows Tribune Magazine 19/06/10 Cari Mitchell
The murders of five women in Ipswich were preceded by a crackdown in 2004 which drove women into isolated areas.

Politicians have failed to honour their promises to protect sex workers There is evidence that assaults rise when sex work is further criminalised Independent 28/05/10 Jerome Taylor

Law on brothels puts prostitutes at risk Preventing sex workers operating together makes them more vulnerable to attack – we need a more pragmatic approach Guardian 03/05/10 Diane Taylor
Claire Finch was cleared of running a brothel. NikiA made 2 good comments here and here.

City vice girl banned by ASBO across county Bradford Telegraph and Argus 10/04/10 Tanya O'Rourke
The naming and shaming of prostitute Michelle Lyn Smith, with her photograph. Who is going to give her a job now if she wanted to give up prostitution?

No trafficking? Well, there's a hell of a lot of women suffering Beware those who argue that prostitution is just another job. If it is, why do so many women die in this sordid trade? Observer 25/10/09
She seems to accept that trafficking statistics are false. She doesn't seem to realize that the reason so many women die is because people like her won't support legislation that will make women safer.

Inquiry fails to find single trafficker who forced anybody into prostitution Guardian 20/08/09 Nick Davies
About police operation Pentameter Two.

Prostitution and trafficking – the anatomy of a moral panic Guardian 20/08/09 Nick Davies
How feminists, the Salvation Army and an alliance of evangelicals inflated the figures for trafficking.

Red mist obscures red light statistics Campaigners too readily accept inflated figures for trafficked women, but we must base our policy on evidence, not emotion Guardian 03/04/09 Belinda Brooks-Gordon

Who says sex workers want to be 'saved'? New legislation aimed at scaring away potential punters will only rob those who work within the sex industry of their livelihood Guardian 13/03/09 Nathalie Rothschild

I'm a sex worker – don't take away my livelihood The 'Big Brothel' report paints women in my industry as victims. Some may be – but to generalise is patronising and offensive Guardian 17/09/08 Lara

'Zero tolerance' in Glasgow's bid to stamp out prostitution Scotland on Sunday 24/08/08 Marc Horne and Michael Klimes

Attacks on prostitutes soar after vice 'driven underground' by law Scotsman 16/04/08 Michael Howie

Foreign bodies Was last week's swoop on prostitutes in Soho a mercy mission to free sex slaves - or was there another reason for the raids? Guardian 20/02/01 Diane Taylor
Judy, a Soho maid and ex-prostitute said "I know a few of them have been released and have had to sign something to say that they won't come back to Soho, so they have gone to work at King's Cross. But it's horrible down there. Everything's crack and they'll have to find a dingy hotel room full of drug-users. I'm going to go down there and look for them and bring them back here, whatever piece of paper they've signed. I hope all those girls they have taken aren't suffering now. What I really want to know is just who this is going to help."

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