Sex workers & supporters in masked parade around Soho, London. Soho boyz man as devil & Women Again Rape banner
Sex workers and supporters held a masked parade around Soho as a part of the annual Soho Festival, thanking the community for their support in helping to keep women safe. The noisy and colourful parade led through Chinatown and up to Soho Square stopping at intervals to address people in the streets and pavement cafes. Attempts by the police to close down premises used by some sex workers were defeated in February with the help of local people; these were small women-run flats, which are many times safer than working on the streets, and also casue fewer problems for others living in the area. The real motive behind the attempted evictions appears to be to gentrify the area. The masked parade was organised by 'Soho Working Girls' and the 'English Collective of Prostitutes', who exposed the false claims behind proposed legislation that allege that a very high proportion of those involved in prostitution are 'trafficked' women. They state: "Research published on 10 July proves that most sex workers are not trafficked. We are mothers, daughters, sisters, grannies, aunties struggling to support ourselves and our families, just like other women." The research referred to is the ESRC Project: Migrants in the UK Sex Industry. The sex workers want to stop the Policing & Crime Bill (PCB) currently going through parliament. Based on the assumption that all prostitution is rape this would criminalize anyone who paid a prostitute. It also makes it easier for police to arrest women on the street, close down flats they are using for their work and seize assets and earnings. It also contains proposals for the compulsory "rehabilitation" of sex workers. What these sex workers want is a safe working environment and legislation and action by the police that concentrates on cutting down actual rape and other violence against women - including trafficking involving coercion.
Size: 5040px × 3354px
Location: Soho, London, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: &, banner, bill, boyz, collective, council, crime, dancers, devil, english, festival, girls, harassment, london, masked, masks, parade, police, policing, prostitutes, rape, safety, sex, society, soho, westminster, women, workers, working
