Safer Bristol launches new strategy to tackle street sex industry
Safer Bristol has launched a new strategy to help tackle the street sex industry.
Across the city various initiatives are taking place including: trained staff offering advice and support to sex workers, courses being ran by the police challenging the attitudes of kerb crawlers and CCTV and other safety devices being installed in communities affected by the trade.
By taking these steps Safer Bristol, the partnership of agencies working together to make the city safer, aims to significantly cut down the number of street sex workers and reduce the impact the market has on communities.
The Street Sex Work Advisory Group (SSWAG), made up of community representatives, organizations, Bristol City Council and the police, also works to increase community safety and promote positive changes.
Brian McCutcheon, Chair of Safer Bristol, said: “The street sex trade is just one aspect of prostitution but it is the element that impacts most on community life and one that poses the most danger to individuals involved.
“By all our partners working together we can ensure that these vulnerable people get the help that they need to leave the industry and ultimately reduce the effect the street sex market has on communities.”
To address the issue Safer Bristol has developed the ‘Street Sex Market Strategy’ a three-year targeted plan which outlines the key ways that agencies can work together to tackle the street sex industry.
Rick Palmer, Safer Bristol Director, said: “We are always looking at different ways to reduce the problems caused by street sex work. Through our multi-pronged approach we will focus on the key areas including prevention, routes out of street sex work, increasing safety and reducing demand.
“We are realistic and know that the problem won’t be solved overnight but by taking this proactive approach we are confident that we can actively reduce harm and help sex workers find a way out.”
On-going efforts have already been made and earlier this year Safer Bristol organised a Personal Safety Training Day for sex workers. Thirty-five women attended and learnt safety training advice from a specialist Independent Sexual Violence Advisor. A Rights and Responsibilities Day was also organised which gave sex workers advice and guidance on human-rights and also discussed their social responsibilities to the communities they work in.
One25 is another of the on-going organisations involved. The One25 team proactively engages with street sex workers helping them to consider all options available to them to help them exit the industry, as well as providing them with help and support whilst working on the streets.
Josie Hill, Fundraising and Publicity Coordinator from One25, said: “We usually meet the women first through our outreach programme. Our van goes out five nights per week and provides nutritious food, hot drinks and a chance to talk and get advice in a safe space. “We provide a mobile phone to contact emergency hostels and A&E, information on ‘ugly mugs’ (perpetrators of street violence), warm clothes, personal alarms, first aid, condoms and more and once a week experienced staff and volunteers go out on foot to speak individually with the women. In 2008, we helped 27 women to exit street sex-work, 28 to be securely housed, 37 to access healthcare and 33 to access addiction treatment”
99 per cent of Bristol’s street sex workers are also drug/alcohol misusers caught in an ongoing cycle and two-thirds of Bristol’s street-based sex workers are homeless – further exposing them to the risk of violence, rape or even death.
Tina Newman, A&SC Vice Liaison Officer, said: “To be able to actively encourage workers to exit the trade we need to tackle the issue of drugs. The joined-up approach of the strategy means that those who need help are receiving it from agencies and organisations who have the skills and training needed to break the chain between drugs and working in the street sex industry.”
Kerb crawlers are also being targeted as part of the strategy, as sex markets often are a matter of supply and demand. Offenders arrested for kerb crawling who admit the offence receive a caution with five conditions. Two of the conditions preclude them from certain areas and they must pay £200 to attend and fully participate in the Change Course and avoid prosecution at court.
These day-long sessions, which aim to change the offenders’ attitudes to paying women for sex, have proved remarkably successful. Since they were introduced over 150 men have attended with 10 men scheduled to attend the next course – and just one of these has re-offended. The re-offender was subsequently charged in court and fined £295.
To-date nearly £10,000 has been raised from The Change Course funds and distributed for use by affected communities.
CCTV and other safety devices such as strategic security lighting are also being used to help combat street sex and make communities safer. Areas such as Stapleton Road which have a high rate of street sex workers have recently had extensive CCTV installed to help catch kerb crawlers and drug dealers.
Stan George, Project Manager for Safer Bristol, said: “The CCTV which has been installed is key to us tackling the problem. It is allowing us to monitor areas closely and to respond to situations as quickly as possible to ensure that criminals are caught and prosecuted and that communities remain safe.
“It also allows us to track kerb crawlers and make sure that everything is being done to prosecute reoffenders. Strategic lighting is also being installed which deters drug dealer and sex workers from using the area’s in the first place.”
Gary Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety, said: “The strategy is focused on all of the key agencies in Bristol working together to tackle the street sex trade. By keeping the workers safe and offering them the advice and support that they need we can make a real difference in the long term.
“We don’t just want to displace the problem to other areas of the city, which is why such an open policy is needed. By adopting this end-to-end approach to street sex work we hope to address the issue at the core.”
Claire’s story:
Claire, a street sex worker in Bristol, is seeking help from One25 project to find a route out.
She said: “Before I met the One25 team I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I didn’t feel like I deserved help most of the time, especially not from normal people with houses and families.
“One of the other girls introduced me to the One25 night van. It was a really cold night. I’d just been with a guy, a family guy in a posh car and a wallet with his wife’s photo, who’d been putting me down, calling me nasty things. He hit me and refused to pay and dumped me on the street.
“But the night van people were good to me. They gave me food and first aid and told me about their drop-in.
“My worker at One25 is now helping me get all the things together that I need to get out of street sex work. She’s helping me get a script [prescription for a heroin substitute], detox, and find somewhere safe to stay. Even just talking with me and telling me I can make it is brilliant. I really want to make it.’
