English Collective of Prostitutes
The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) is a campaigning group which supports the decriminalisation of prostitution, sex workers’ right to recognition and safety, and the provision of financial alternatives to prostitution so that no one is forced into prostitution by poverty. It provides information, help and support to individual prostitute women and others who are concerned with sex workers’ rights, civil, legal and economic rights. The organisation was founded in 1975 and its first spokeswoman was Selma James.[1]
Contents
Origins
The ECP was formed as part of the highly-politicised prostitutes' rights movement that emerged in Europe in the mid-1970s. The 1975 prostitutes' strike in France and the subsequent formation of the French Prostitute Collective inspired the formation of a similar organisation in England.[2]
International
The ECP and the US PROStitutes Collective (US PROS) are part of the International Prostitutes Collective, which has a network of sex workers in many countries of the world. The ECP is said to work closely with the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective who spearheaded legislation in New Zealand [3] to decriminalise prostitution. A recent government review[4] found that after five years there had been no increase in the numbers of women working and women’s safety had improved.
Safety First Coalition
In the aftermath of the murders of five young women in Ipswich in December 2007, the ECP initiated the Safety First Coalition[5] to decriminalise sex work and prioritise safety. Members include the Royal College of Nursing, the National Association of Probation Officers, bereaved families, anti-poverty campaigners, church people, residents of red-light areas, medical and legal professionals, prison reformers, sex workers, anti-rape organisations, drug rehabilitation projects.
Policing and Crime Act
The English Collective of Prostitutes campaigned against the Policing and Crime Act 2009,[6] which originally included proposals to criminalise anyone involved in the sex industry whether or not there was force or coercion; target safer premises; seize and retain money and assets, even without a conviction; increase arrests against street workers; arrest men on "suspicion"; imprison sex workers who breach a compulsory rehabilitation order.[7] The ECP argued that these measures would force prostitution underground, exposing sex workers to greater danger and preventing them coming forward to report violence and access health and other services.
Trafficking
The ECP argues that discredited academic work has falsely labelled most sex workers as victims of "trafficking". Its website provides critiques of such work.[8]
Decriminalisation
In 2015 the ECP organised a symposium in the House of Commons, presenting evidence to parliament in support of the decriminalisation of sex work.[9]
Local issues
The ECP has been involved in local campaigns aimed at making life safer for prostitutes following incidents in certain areas, for example, the Ipswich Murders of 2006 in which all the victims are alleged to have been prostitutes. It also objects to the actions of Reading Borough Council and the Thames Valley Police, which have been targeting prostitutes working in the Oxford Road area of Reading, Berkshire, for several years.[10][11][12]
See also
References
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- ↑ More or Less BBC Radio 4 1:30pm Friday 9 January 2009.
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External links
- News
- Keith Dovkants, "Soho brothel to re-open after judge throws out police case", London Evening Standard, 18 February 2009.
- Ben Russell, "Sex & the citizens: New prostitution laws explained", The Independent, 20 November 2008.
- "Jam, Jerusalem and Prostitutes", Sky News On-line
- "Should Sex Laws Be Tougher", BBC Two, 19 November 2008.
- "Critics hit out at sex law plan", BBC News, 19 November 2008.
