There is not much time before we vote in the general election. We have to act quickly!
Please enter your postcode below to email your prospective parliamentary candidates to ask for their support for the decriminalisation of sex work and to address the cost-of-living crisis, which has pushed so many people into sex work to survive.
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Destitution policies like the two-child limit, benefit sanctions and the benefit cap have taken money out of women’s hands and caused a crisis of poverty among single mothers in particular, pushing many thousands into prostitution to make ends meet.
Politicians who claim to want to reduce prostitution must address rising hardship, homelessness and debt as well as the lack of pay equity, low wages and poor conditions in many other jobs – especially those traditionally done by women. They can find money for weapons which kill and maim but say there is no money for people’s survival.
The government causes women’s poverty, and then criminalises the consequences of it. Record numbers of women are facing raids, arrests, prosecution, deportation and even prison. Convictions or prostitute’s cautions stay on women’s record for life barring access to other jobs. Migrant, trans and women of colour are disproportionately targeted.
Criminalisation of sex work undermines safety. Sex workers are prevented by law from working together and are deterred from reporting violence and exploitation by the fear of arrest. In countries where clients are criminalised (the “Nordic Model), sex workers report a rise in attacks and discrimination. Misinformation about trafficking has been used to justify increased police powers despite evidence that the police abuse the powers they already have.
New Zealand has successfully decriminalised prostitution with verifiable improvements in sex workers’ safety, health and well-being. Belgium decriminalised in 2022 giving sex workers labour rights, including pensions, maternity leave and the right to refuse clients -- strengthening workers’ hands to fight workplace exploitation.
Decriminalisation is supported by prestigious organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and Women Against Rape in the UK and internationally Amnesty International, the World Health Organization, Human Rights Watch and the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women.
For more information on sex work watch our #MakeAllWomenSafe film here, and read our fact sheets here.