Independent Leeds Escorts

Sex workers and their allies rallied in Leeds on Saturday, June 14, to protest the proposed "Crime and Policing Bill," a Labour government initiative announced in February 2025. Activists argue that the bill, which includes a ban on the purchase of sex, would make the industry more dangerous for women, despite its stated aim to halve crime against women and girls within a decade.

Protesters are "deeply opposed" to the Nordic model, upon which the bill is based, believing it will only increase the vulnerability of sex workers. At the city centre rally, speeches were delivered by individuals working in the industry and Sarah Jones, founder of "Sisterhood Beyond Species."

One sex worker at the rally asserted, "If you want liberalisation listen to the whores. We are not going to be saved by pearl-clutching liberals or raid-happy cops. The sex workers I have met are some of the most radical, wisest, most intelligent, loving, hard-as-nails people I have ever met. The revolution is not going to be state funded or respectable. It will be covered in lube and glitter."

She emphasized the importance of collective power within the community: "This has been such a rare and powerful opportunity to come together and wield our collective power. We are not here to beg for respectability or lean into the victim narrative. We are here to say sex workers don’t need to be saved. Cops are not our mates. They never will be. Cops have never kept women safe they keep power and patriarchy safe. Imagine getting battered by a punter and going to the cops and they arrest you for being there: That’s the reality of sex workers."

The speaker further criticised the Nordic model, stating, "The Nordic model breaks down networks we have built to keep ourselves safe. If a client is nicked the cops have the right to seize the earnings they [the sex worker] made that night. According to them we’re allowed to work and this does not make sense. The Nordic model is a state pimp putting on a feminist mask while trying to control our bodies. If we were to see legalisation of sex workers what would we see is harsh regulation like zoning laws and permits and if you’re someone not eligible for this you’re going to be pushed into underground black market dodgy sh**."

She concluded by advocating for decriminalisation: "What we want is for sex work to be treated as it is - work and never as a crime. Decriminalisation is harm reduction - anything else is theatre. It is the bare f****** minimum. Those who are affected will not be the middle class sugar babies and Only Fans Girls, it is the migrants, the trans women, the vulnerable."

Sarah Jones reiterated her concerns, previously shared with LeedsLive, that the bill, while intended to support sex workers, would in fact make them more vulnerable. "If purchasing sex becomes a criminal offence, workers will start being too afraid to disclose their clients. Clients will likely be less transparent and overall, the industry will become far less regulated. People will always buy sex - with the bill it will just be more unsafe.”

In her speech on Saturday, Jones passionately called for recognition of sex workers' rights: "I grew up desperate to offer care I’d wish for myself and to be a torch in other people’s darkness. Now I’m standing here to tell you to never let anyone convince you one voice can’t move mountains. I’m proof of that and all of you here are, because sex workers deserve safety and rights and no one deserves to be punished and pushed back into danger simply for surviving."

She highlighted the potential negative impact of the bill's clauses: "The bill includes new clauses one and aims to help criminalise anyone who helps to aid a sex worker and criminalise clients. It has been shown in countries like Sweden and Ireland to push sex work underground. It isn’t about protecting sex workers it’s about control. When you criminalise clients and support networks you make sex work more dangerous. Sex workers across the UK will be hit the hardest - the very people who already face systemic oppression will be made more vulnerable. There is a better way - one backed by research and lived experience. Decriminalisation works and saves lives."

Jones urged for alternative approaches and action: "If governments wanted to reduce harm they would invest in housing and support not punishment. We need more support, respect and more rights. Email your MP and tell them to oppose clause one and two. Use your voice and sign the petition and share it widely. Speak up in your communities, your unions, your families and stand with sex workers always. To those who felt they are voiceless you are not alone to those who fight to survive you are powerful.

The proposal to ban online prostitution advertising, as suggested during the Crime and Policing Bill's second reading, is fundamentally flawed. While MPs like Rebecca Paul decry these sites as "the Etsy of sexual exploitation," banning them is impractical. These websites, if banned domestically, would simply relocate to international servers, rendering any national ban ineffective.

Paul's argument that online ads facilitate trafficking "as easy as ordering a pizza" highlights a serious issue, but ignores the limitations of national legislation in a globalized digital space. The current legal disparity, where advertising prostitution in a phone box is illegal but online is not, reveals a legislative lag. However, enacting a ban without addressing the root causes of exploitation is a superficial solution.

Labour MP Tracy Gilbert's call for stronger measures against pimping and sex trafficking is valid, but simply criminalizing advertising doesn't address the demand driving the industry. Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson's statement that the government is "closely monitoring" international policies and working with safeguarding agencies indicates a cautious approach, but lacks concrete action.

Ultimately, banning online ads will only drive the activity underground, making it harder to monitor and protect vulnerable individuals. A more effective strategy would focus on tackling the demand for prostitution, supporting victims, and international cooperation to disrupt trafficking networks.

Steven Francis, 59, has been jailed for life with a minimum of 28 years for the brutal murder of Louisa Hall, 43, in Leeds in October 2023. Hall suffered over 117 injuries in the attack. Francis's lies about their meeting quickly fell apart due to CCTV footage and witness testimony. He was also convicted of raping another woman in 2016. Police described Francis as a dangerous predator targeting vulnerable women. Hall's family expressed their devastation, while the rape survivor said the verdict brought her peace and encouraged other victims to come forward.

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In the depths of the pandemic, amidst prolonged isolation, a profound realization struck me—I had been "masking" my entire life. The norms of social behavior, considered typical, were a facade I meticulously adhered to until the pandemic unraveled this charade. The more I shed this guise, the more contentment and authenticity I discovered within myself.

Drawing parallels between recognizing one's autism and acknowledging one's sexual orientation, I couldn't help but contemplate. As a bisexual woman, my awareness of my sexual identity didn't require a professional's validation. However, societal norms dictate a different path for those discovering their autism. A formal diagnosis seems indispensable, although its practical value in societal integration remains scarce. Despite lacking a formal diagnosis for much of my life, I inherently knew I was different, though the reasons eluded me.

The quest for affirmation led me to extensive sessions with a psychologist, recounting my life's narrative, undertaking personality assessments, and cataloging traits that resonated with me. The devastating blow came when, despite my conviction, the psychologist negated my belief in being autistic. Struggling to maintain composure while inwardly disconnecting, I queried the rationale behind his judgment.

My certainty stemmed from hours spent poring over global TikTok communities, finding solace in shared experiences that finally illuminated my life's enigma. A late ADHD diagnosis had failed to provide a complete explanation, leaving me with longstanding suspicions about my autism, suspicions that now solidified into certainty.

In a jarring dismissal, the psychologist cited my profession as an escort as incompatible with autism, a statement that left me bewildered. My employment in this field, undertaken due to job instability in my 20s, offered a unique perspective—I discovered a profound connection with clients, particularly with disabled, chronically ill, and mentally distressed individuals. Understanding their loneliness, I derived fulfillment in offering companionship on my own terms.

However, my psychologist, failing to grasp this nuanced dynamic, hastily labeled me with avoidant personality disorder, attributing it to my disinterest in forming a traditional family.

The aftermath of this diagnosis plunged me into emotional turmoil. Disregarded by a professional who questioned my lived experiences, I grappled with the psychological distress. Despite academic qualifications bolstering his stance, I couldn't reconcile with this dissonance.

Turning to the online community of sex workers became my refuge. Desperate for validation and support, I reached out on social media, seeking connections with other autistic individuals engaged in similar professions. Doubts clouded my mind—was my psychologist right? Could being an escort clash with an autistic individual's inherent tendencies?

The ensuing uncertainty loomed large, painting a complex picture of societal perceptions intersecting with personal identity, leaving me grappling for validation and understanding amidst professional skepticism.

Date of Event: Thursday, May 4th 2023

Time of Event: 9:30 AM — 1:15 PM

Place of Event: Webinar

There were believed to be 105,000 individuals in the UK who are involved in prostitution, up from 72,000 in 2016. The vast majority of these are women. The cost-of-living crisis is pushing yet more women into sex work and forcing them to take work from violent and exploitative clients. A 2015 National Ugly Mugs Our survey with Leeds University found 49% of sex workers were “worried” or “very worried” about their safety and 47% have been targeted by offenders. Meanwhile, 49% were either “unconfident” or “very unconfident” that police would take their reports seriously. It is estimated that 152 sex workers were murdered in the UK between 1990 and 2015. The charity Beyond the Streets highlights that 76% of those involved in prostitution experience some form of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of this work.

Currently, sex work is legal in England, Wales and Scotland, but many of the surrounding aspects remain illegal, such as solicitation or running a brothel. The UK government have stated though that whilst they do not intend to change the law around sex work, they are committed to tackling the harm and exploitation associated with sex work. The Scottish government has also been criticised for focussing their support in this area towards charities that are not backed by sex workers, and that are focussed on getting people out of the industry rather than supporting those in it.

The Home Affairs Committee’s 2016 report, Prostitution, recommended a shift to complete decriminalisation. Dan Vajzovic, the National Police Chief Council’s lead for prostitution, who is working alongside government officials to reassess brothel keeping legislation, has called on the government to review prostitution laws to ensure sex workers can work together on the same premises to remain safe. This would “better enable the police to focus our resources on protecting sex workers and tackling those who are controlling or exploiting,” Vajzovic argues. According to National Ugly Mugs, sex workers are ten times safer working indoors than on the streets.

Christine Jardine MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for women and equalities, who supports the decriminalisation of brothel keeping, has called for a proper government strategy to accompany it. Also supporting decriminalisation of brothels, Labour MP, Nadia Whittome, has highlighted that “Other laws aimed at sex work – such as soliciting – should also be repealed, to improve sex workers’ rights, safety and ability to leave the sex industry if they choose. Alongside decriminalisation, the government must urgently tackle the growing levels of poverty that are pushing more women into sex work to make ends meet.”

This timely symposium will provide sex workers, safeguarding boards, police forces, local authorities, and social care providers with an opportunity to identify and debate priorities for reform and develop strategies for protecting and expanding the rights of sex workers.

We all want to protect and support sex workers, especially those who are in danger, addicted or have no other options. We don’t want any pimps or traffickers. But there are many unclear things about this industry, like how to talk about it and how to keep people safe who sell sex. This is more important now that more people do it because they are desperate. Writing this was hard for me. It made me think about when I was a hostess in a strip club.

I liked it most of the time and I earned good money, but I also saw (some, not all) dancers with drug problems. I had to deal with creepy men, bad managers and people who judged me for how I paid my bills that year. It was funny that some of them were my dates and some were customers who insulted the strippers… and then asked for a dance. I don’t get why people look down on those who provide sex services, but not on those who use them. Why don’t people shame those who go to places like Holbeck and try to pay less to broken women? It’s not fair to lose opportunities or be looked down on because of your job or past.

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Book detailing research into the sex industry by Bristol University. This book seeks to bring to the centre the voices of those directly involved in different areas of today’s sex industry.

This research is important for two reasons. First, it addresses the ethics of who speaks on behalf of the sex industry and the challenges of producing collaborative research. Second, this work is novel in revisiting participants over time to ask them to reflect back on their experience of being involved in a research project and of being represented in a government report.

The book comes out with some interesting recommendations for policy makers, police and academics.

For policy makers
• The overwhelming issue identified by participants in this book was the legal and policy framework for the sex industry, particularly the ban on paired or collective working.
• Both brothel workers and erotic dancers/strippers identified the employment practices and working conditions in managed brothels and strip venues as being the key drivers of harm, rather than commercial sexual services per se. These include:
◊ exorbitant house fees (commissions paid to venue managers or for reception, security and cleaning facilities in managed brothels);
◊ toxic cultures (use of drink or drugs or policies which promote competition – and risk-taking – between workers);
◊ the unstable and inconsistently policed regulatory environment, which deters the reporting of crimes and perpetuates employment malpractice.
• The insecure work status of many involved in the sex industry meant that they were unable to access either welfare or income support through the pandemic. Finding ways to protect the groups least able to withstand income volatility should be the priority of all governments, in ordinary and extraordinary times.

For police
• Low trust in the police means that many sex workers will not report crime which occurs either within or outside of sex working. This allows perpetrators to act with relative impunity.
• Policing should be consistent, fair and focused on individuals who perpetrate violence and exploitation, and on reducing harm for sex workers.

For academics and policy makers
• While robust evidence is important to making good policy, repeated consultations and data collection without any resulting material change to the lives of those involved in the sex industry is damaging to trust. Short funding timeframes and shifting political and policy attention mean that the impact of such work on participants is often not recognised.
• In seeking to ‘represent’ the sex industry, we must be mindful of who speaks and why. Experiences may vary depending on setting and individual context.
• A less punitive legal framework for those selling sex and more robust social support (to manage loss of income, health challenges, becoming a parent/carer, migrating, or enduring discrimination) would better empower people to determine their involvement in the sex industry.
 

Residents in an area that was once part of a legal red light zone say they are now being tormented by people having sex on their street. The area, in Holbeck, Leeds, was part of a project called the Managed Approach, which permitted sex work at certain hours on designated streets.

However, the project was abandoned by Leeds City Council in 2020 after six years. People living there say the situation has deteriorated ever since.

The council closed the Managed Approach, but now the prostitutes are coming into the residential areas, like on Crosby Road. They’re doing it there.”

Unlike the coronavirus – which turned out to be especially virulent – the monkeypox virus is proving to be more selective and certainly nowhere near as infectious.

When monkeypox emerged in the UK just a few weeks ago, there was barely any mention of which groups were at risk. Partly because we didn’t know – but even when it did become clearer that it was men who have sex with men who were particularly susceptible to contracting the virus, there was a fear that saying this publicly could foster stigma for a group all too familiar with bigotry.

But now the UK Heath Security Agency has at last unveiled its strategy to try and mitigate the spread of the monkeypox virus – and its main intervention will be to offer a vaccine to gay and bisexual men.

While I agree with using public health intelligence to target those most at risk of contracting this virus, they seem to have neglected one group that also face an elevated risk: female sex workers. Monkeypox won’t give a jot whether sexual intimacy happens between same sex or mixed sex couples. Those who have more sex, with multiple partners, are still at risk.

Not for the first time have women been overlooked when a virus emerges, and public health advice and intervention begin to be formulated. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, when HIV emerged and began spreading among the male gay community, women were ignored – particularly female sex workers.

There is an amendment which has been made to the online safety bill in the UK parliament. If this amendment goes through, it will effectively stop online advertising for escorts.  Hosting companies will be responsible for removing prostitution related advertising.  That includes twitter and escort directories.

Now, with a new law going through parliament with the intention of making online spaces safer, sex workers are worried that their jobs could get a lot more dangerous, forcing them into making riskier choices like Audrey found herself doing during lockdown.

A recent amendment to the Online Safety Bill (which will be scrutinised next week by the Public Bill Committee) will target online adverts for sexual services in a bid to stop traffickers from using online platforms to exploit victims. The Online Safety Bill is a huge piece of legislation with multiple focuses but is primarily aimed at protecting children and other vulnerable groups from harmful online content. However, the recent amendment lays out "inciting or controlling prostitution for gain" as a priority offence that tech companies must crack down on. 

The news that OnlyFans will ban sexual content from its platform from 1st October 2021 is the latest development in the trend of sex workers being excluded from online platforms and financial services.

There are many sex workers who depend on OnlyFans as a platform for the majority of their income. There are others who use OnlyFans as a supplement to income from other sex work, or more mainstream jobs. The Covid-19 pandemic has only increased the number of those turning to OnlyFans and other online platforms to ensure that they earn enough money to survive and support themselves and their families. Sex workers who had been able to transition to online work may now face financial pressure to return to in-person forms of sex work, increasing the risks they take and jeopardising their safety. Sex work has gone from being in a highly visible position to being once again pushed back into hidden margins.

So over the course of the course of the last week OnlyFans decided that they were going to suddenly ban adult content from their site. This may be seen as an inexplicable decision given that this is, actually, the thing that they make all of their money from. It is especially odd, given that a majority share of the company was bought in 2018 by Leonid Radvinsky, who has for over twenty years been working expressly in the porn industry. It would seem like he knew what he was getting into and exactly what it is that people were using OnlyFans for.

Abstract: The use of regulation of sex work is undergoing sweeping changes across Europe and client criminalisation is becoming very widespread, with conflicting claims about the intended and actual consequences of this policy. We discuss changes in demand for paid sex accompanying the criminalization of prostitution in the United Kingdom, which moved from a relatively permissive regime under the Wolfenden Report of 1960, to a much harder line of aiming to crack down on prostitution with the Prostitution (Public Places) Scotland Act 2007 and the Policing and Crime Act of 2009 in England and Wales. We make use of two waves of the British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL2, conducted in 2000-2001 and NATSAL3, conducted in 2010-2012) to document the changes in both the amount of demand for paid sex and in the type of clients that have taken place across the two waves, and their possible implications for policies that frame prostitution as a form of crime.

The evidence we bring indicates that the increased stigmatization of prostitution that has taken place in the UK over the period 2000-2012, during which prostitution was progressively criminalized, does not support the expectations of a significant reduction in demand as the policy intended and corresponds to a change in the type of clients that are observed through successive waves of the British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL henceforth). We conclude that this provides further support for the idea that demand for sexual services might be inelastic to both the market price and the implicit price of stigma, whereby criminalization is not likely to be conducive to decreases in demand as is hoped for. Rather, it might jeopardize the working conditions and safety of existing prostitutes thus raising the welfare cost of abolitionism. 

Student escorts need to be supported. This article is about a student escort who worked as a full-service escort during her undergraduate degree and then continued after her degree. She enjoyed the job. After she wanted to leave she had no choice but to continue because of poverty and then started to feel trapped by the job.

It is important in this job to plan your exit strategy, save your money and invest it to secure a way out in the future. (editor)

She then approached counselling and found no help. She was even discharged from a rape recovery centre because she was deemed as putting herself in debt. 

After many years she finally met a Community Psychiatric Nurse who believed her and told her there was no shame in being an escort.

From her experience, she has set up a group called Support for Student Sex Workers, a sex worker-led organisation. It is the only one in the country.  Her group has trained universities throughout the UK.

It hurts her that people have said we are ‘pimping out’ our students because it simply isn’t true.

If you are a student and want their help, the contact http://supportforstudentsexworkers.org/

The Service by Frankie Miren is available now

If readers take anything from The Service, I hope it’s that sex work has as many meanings as there are sex workers. And, while this is undoubtedly a political novel, set in a fictional time in which advertising platforms have been banned in the UK, I hope they’ll be entertained. I can’t speak for all hookers but my life feels frequently ridiculous.

I am white, cis and middle class; there are many stories I can’t explore. As sex-worker activism – with its global call for decriminalisation – gains critical mass, the time is ripe for sex workers to claim space. I hope The Service will come to sit alongside shelves and shelves of diverse, hooker-led storytelling.

Lori works illegally in a rented flat in central London, living in fear of police raids which could mean losing her small daughter and her dream of a new life. Freya is a student who finds she can make far more money as an escort than she could in an office; life, after all, is already a tangle of madness and dissociation. And Paula is a journalist whose long-term campaign against prostitution has brought her some strange bedfellows. After a shock change to the law, with brothels being raided by the authorities, lives across the country are fractured. As a threat from Lori's past begins to catch up with her, the three women are increasingly, inevitably drawn into each other's orbit. The Service is a powerful and challenging novel about womens bodies, sex and relationships, mental health, entitlement, authenticity, privilege and power - as shocking as any dystopia, but touching and deeply humane.

Leeds City Council announced earlier this week that the so-called “Managed Approach” area, which has been place since 2014, will be stopped.

The policy allowed sex workers to trade at specific times within the area without fear of prosecution, but critics claimed it did not make them any safer.

The council said earlier this week it would look to prosecute kerb crawlers rather than criminalising sex workers themselves, despite the move to end the zone.

So what this will do, is 

1. This will force the women who work the Holbeck streets to find other areas to work, to allow clients to approach without being caught by the police.
2. This makes it harder for the outreach services to find them and provide services to help them out of prostitution.
3. More residential areas will now be blighted by prostitution, where before it was confined to a mainly non-residential area. 
4. Expose the street workers to more threats and violence.  Since the Holbeck zone has been in place, sex workers have been able to report a greater percentage of crimes. Normally crimes go unreported, but within the zone, crimes have been reported and prosecuted more successfully.

Dominatrix on £200,000-a-year spends £50,000 Government Covid loan on kinky dungeon featuring whipping tables and a sex swing

Sex worker, 50, converted the cellar of her £700,000 Leeds home into a dungeon 

She was able to receive a maximum loan and runs the business as a therapist enterprise 

Said: 'I'm all above board, in as much as I pay my taxes. I'm even VAT-registered'

She added: 'The Government will get their cash back with interest, so everyone's a winner.' 

A sex worker charity has hit out at the "disappointing" decision to scrap the legal street sex zone in Leeds - and warned that it could make things worse for neighbours as well as vulnerable sex workers.

Basis Yorkshire is also worried that scrapping the Holbeck zone may lead to more on-street sex work in residential areas, affecting people who live their - the same problem the Managed Approach was supposed to solve.

detectives investigating a serious sexual assault on a sex worker in Leeds have released CCTV images of the suspect (see below).

The victim, a woman in her thirties, was attacked on Holbeck Moor at about 4am on Wednesday 5 May 2021.

She had met the suspect and gone to a wooded area of the park next to the M621 when he produced a knife and made threats before sexually assaulting her.

He was described as black, stocky build, with short afro hair twisted into little balls. He was around 30 years, with brown eyes and a flat nose. He was wearing a mask and had his hood up.

He was described as having a foreign accent and was thought by the victim to be African.

Detectives from West Yorkshire Police Homicide and Major Enquiry Team have been carrying out extensive enquiries to identify the man and are now in a position to release CCTV images of the man involved taken from a nearby shop.

Other CCTV from the area shows him with a bicycle.

The number of people dealt with by police in Leeds for prostitution offences fell dramatically following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, residents who live near the city's controversial legalised sex zone in Holbeck say it has been "chaos" in recent weeks, despite the zone officially remaining closed.

A source told LeedsLive: "It's been a nightmare this week with prostitutes and punters.

"It's still closed and it's chaos. They [punters] are hedging their bets by staying out of the zone and in the residential areas."

The Holbeck Managed Approach is an area of Leeds where sex workers can solicit for trade without fear of being arrested.

The zone, managed jointly by Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Police, was closed at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic last year. The Safer Leeds partnership said "all powers will be used to prevent the sale or purchase of sex in the area".

That official stance has not changed since, but despite a fall in the number of offences throughout 2020, more than a dozen people were caught soliciting for the purposes of prostitution or for exploitation of prostitution.

The battle lines are being drawn. In Scotland, England and Wales are we going down the discredited line of the Nordic model. The proposed legislation is coming to both parliaments. In this article from Care, they talk about evidence. Evidence that the Nordic model and the criminalisation of the sex industry is dangerous is proven beyond all doubt, Even the recent Home Office research done by a group in Bristol University comes down on the side that the current laws are not fit, and the Nordic model is a failure.  Evidence of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland show sex workers are in greater danger.  Why is the evidence from New Zealand, and New South Wales always disregarded?  Even unintended legislation that decriminalised the Sex Industry in Rhode Island showed that decriminalisation is a better way to go. Against all this evidence, we have CARE and other organisations campaigning for the Nordic model which will do nothing to help sex workers. If you are a sex worker or an ally, then it is time to communicate with your MP, otherwise, you will find your advertising streams closed, your clients more secretive and unlikely to divulge any personal information. Are you looking to go back to the street to get clients, this happened in the US after the SESTA/FESTA legislation was enacted. 

Here is a small part of the CARE article, please read the whole article from the link.

We must explore options to criminalise the purchase of sex, sending the message that exploitation will not be tolerated.

Do we want to live in a society where you can buy sexual consent? That was the question posed two years ago in a ground-breaking report from the Conservative Human Rights Commission. It recommended that buying sex should be criminalised and people in prostitution supported through clear exit pathways and strategies. Now, two years on, are we any further forward?

The fact is, a debate about current prostitution laws is long overdue. When I say debate, I mean a proper, evidence-led, robust discussion about the type of society we want to be. Prostitution is a divisive issue, with strong feelings either side of the debate. But all campaigners agree that the current law is not working. 

Paying for sex and providing sexual services for payment are legal in England, Wales, and Scotland. Someone can sell their body for the purposes of sex and someone else can legally buy it. However, other activities closely related to prostitution are against the law – soliciting in a public place, brothel keeping and controlling others for prostitution. This confusing legal framework is unsustainable and morally indefensible. The deficiencies are summed up by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution, who, in their 2014 report wrote:

“The legal settlement around prostitution sends no clear signals to women who sell sex, men who purchase it, courts and the criminal justice system, the police or local authorities. In practice, those who sell sexual services carry the burden of criminality despite being those who are most vulnerable to coercion and violence. This serves to normalise the purchase and stigmatise the sale of sexual services - and undermines efforts to minimise entry into and promote exit from prostitution.”

I chatted with Sarah from Decrim Now about the laws around sex work and why it's an issue at the moment. We cover the current position (which is partial criminalisation), the Nordic Model (which criminalises the client), and full decriminalisation (which is what sex workers and many big unions and charities are calling for).

As I mentioned in last week's show we would please encourage you to use this template to email your MP about it decrimnow.eaction.org.uk/nonordicmodel and if you have clout or belong to an organisation that does, please sign the open letter decrimnow.org.uk/open-letter-on-the-nordic-model/

Desperate students selling sex to make ends meet are behind a surge of pleas for help to the “prostitutes’ union”.

The English Collective of Prostitutes said calls to its helpline from young people at university and college have risen by a third in 2021.

And the campaigning group has seen a surge in the numbers selling sex since lockdowns sent student finances into freefall.

Many sell explicit pictures of themselves on sites like OnlyFans as traditional bar and shop jobs have dried up.

Now as many as eight students a day are calling for support and advice. And some universities are publishing guides on how to safely sell your body.

Laura Watson, a spokeswoman for the group, said: “We have seen a significant increase in students going into prostitution as tuition fees have increased.

With an amenedment to the unloved Police Bill in parliament, it could happen that the Nordic model is introduced to England. The Nordic model bans the purchase of sex, while 'decriminilising the escort' The Nordic model will also ban advertising sites. There is a fierce battle building up to fight this amendment, and hopfully amend the police bill to fully decriminilise the sexwork. Many celebrities are supporting the decriminilisation.

A newly-published open letter that calls for MPs to oppose the further criminalisation of sex work in the UK has received 150 signatures, including those of celebrities, activists, and human rights organisations (such as FKA twigs, Amnesty International, and Sisters Uncut), and figures across politics, the media, and academia.

Spearheaded by the UK campaign group Decrim Now, the letter takes aim at legislation that criminalises the purchase of sex — often known as “the Nordic Model” — warning that measures touted as solutions to sex trafficking and exploitation “will only exacerbate violence against women, including those who are being exploited”.

It also encourages politicians to take an evidence-based approach to the sex industry, and to engage with and listen to sex workers. This comes amid repeated attempts to criminalise paying for sex in the UK (including the recent Sexual Exploitation Bill put forward by Labour’s Diana Johnson, which Decrim Now links to the controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill) despite evidence suggesting that the move is likely to prove ineffective, and may have harmful consequences.

“Evidence shows that the Nordic Model does nothing for the very groups it claims to protect,” the letter continues, citing a sharp increase in violence against sex workers after similar legislation was introduced in the Republic of Ireland in 2017. In 2018, the non-profit initiative Ugly Mugs Ireland reported that violent crime against sex workers went up 77 per cent after the ruling came into effect.

Rob Richardson, head of the NCA’s Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit, said the adult services websites (ASWs) are widely used by criminals who fly their victims into the country and force them to sell their bodies for sex.

There though are positive aspects of these sites.

“The positive aspects are around providing a safe environment for sex workers to advertise their services, so it can be argued that using ASWs takes sex workers off the streets and potentially puts them in control of the services they offer.

“They are able to vet clients and they are able to be clear in the services they offer, so the ASWs do offer some kind of safety benefit.”

Each year on 17th Dec #IDEVASW, sex workers across the world mourn those we have lost. This year, due to Covid-19, we are unable to do this. National Ugly Mugs has invited sex workers and allies to remember alongside us. We ask you to join us and #SayTheirNames.

Five men and one woman have been jailed for running a brothel which exploited young Romanian women to be sex workers.

The gang’s business model was to advertise the sexual services of young women on the internet, and then move them from town to town across Lancashire - including towns near Bury.

“We want to offer help and advice for people who think they may be victims of human trafficking or slavery.

“There are a number of ways you can contact someone for help. You don’t have to speak directly to the police there are charities that can help you. You can also ring some services anonymously; you do not have to give your name or go to court or give a statement.”

What a fucking awful thread on Mumsnet. These 'feminists' have absolutley no idea what is going on in Holbeck. I agree that many of the women 'working' there do need to be given althernatives. The council allows the women to work there, and therfore have access to them to offer alternatives. While they are working there they have access to social help, and protection by the police. 

The area is a succes. Despite one woman being killed there, this is so much better than the previous years when many many more women were killed becvause of the criminilisation of their work.

If you are a mumsnet user, then get on there and tell these people the truth.

The man used the Yorkshire Ripper's name on a vile forum where he boasted about his love of unprotected sex and his preference for teenage girls in Leeds.

West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that they were told about a man using the Yorkshire Ripper's pseudonym in an online forum, despite initially claiming they had "no knowledge" of him.

However, LeedsLive has since discovered that officers tasked with managing the city's controversial sex zone were tipped off about the man's vile messages almost two years ago.

West Yorkshire Police have spoken out amid worrying rumours that a copycat Yorkshire Ripper is prowling around Leeds sex zone.

It was reported by The Sun that a man calling himself the ‘Yorkshire Ripper' is on the lurk for young prostitutes in Holbeck.

But in a statement sent to LeedsLive, a West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed that despite the posts, the force has no knowledge of who this person is.

He said: "We have no knowledge of this individual or any comments they have made. Prior to the Sun article, no complaints had been received by the Police.”

Mums net post drumming up support for a petition to end Leeds managed zone

A man who raped a sex worker and controlled her for prostitution by forcing her to work on the streets of Leeds thought he was 'bullet proof', a jury heard.

Anthony Blackman is alleged to have used violence and threats against the woman to force her to sell sex in order to fund his addiction to drugs.

Blackman, 53, of Reginald Terrace, Potternewton, is on trial at Leeds Crown Court where he denies charges of rape, controlling or coercive behaviour and controlling prostitution for gain.

For 12 years I worked as an escort, I also did occasional phone & cam work. I varied between working full time and part time, but around half was full time and the other half part time.

I've been put off doing one of these because of how they usually go but I'm always banging on about people making assumptions about sex workers and accepting stereotypes about us so I might as well.

To be clear, this is a thread for people who want to ask questions, not for people who just want to make a point about sex work or sex workers.

Anyway, if anybody cares...ask away

Dr Kate Lister set up a project with students to commemorate the 17 women murdered in Leeds and Bradford between 1978 and 2010 who were working as sex workers at the time. Among them are women killed by Peter Sutcliffe in the late 1970s and 1980s, as well as Daria Pionko, 21, who was murdered by Lewis Pierre in Leeds in December 2013.

She has now been shortlisted for the Times Higher Education's Most Innovative Teacher of the Year award.

Dr Lister is also a columnist for inews, and is a specialist in the history of sexuality and depiction of sex workers in literature and culture.

The city's most prominent sex worker support charity is looking to raise at least £15,000 for a brand new outreach van.

Basis Yorkshire helps hundreds of sex workers across the county, but the charity has a particular focus on providing advice and practical support to the women who work in the Holbeck Managed Approach in south Leeds.

This Daily Mail article on the Holbeck red light district is driven by the content from Mumsnet radical feminists.  It ignores that fact that before the zone was created there were many dead sex workers. Tragically while the managed zone has been in existence, there was one death. This on death is sad, but so much better than the many deaths that occurred before.

The article ignores that the zone has actually reduced the amount of sex work. because the ladies are all in one place, and able to connect with the police and social services. They are so much more likely to get the services they desperately need to allow them to exit sex work.

An independent review was commissioned, and those that did not like the findings are now attacking the report with slurs.

They say the zone blights the area, but only 1homes and businesses bothered to comment on the zone, most of whom said positive things. This kind of means to me, most people living there are happy to see it continue, and those who don't like it are from outside the area and have their own political adgenda.

The academic who led a study into the Holbeck Managed Area for sex workers claimed most people who took part in the study believed the zone should continue.

Majority of businesses also didn't want to take part or didn't see a problem, says academic that led the study.

It begs the question, where were all the people who were against the managed zone.  Seems they don't exist.  All those who did not answer the survey must also consider the Holbe Managed Zone not to be a problem.

The owners of Winstons Health and Leisure on Dewsbury Road in Beeston, described as a “brothel” by West Yorkshire Police three years ago, have applied for a licence to sell alcohol.

This will be the fourth attempt to get such a licence. The last application, made by DRH Health Ltd in 2017 was rejected by Councillors following a hearing of the Licensing Sub Committee and a site visit by Councillors.