After the Ipswich murders

Submitted by cathy n on 12 January, 2007 - 2:16

The murder of five prostitutes in Ipswich at the end of last year prompted some discussion about how to improve the lives and safety of sex workers. A 400 strong Reclaim the Night march was held in the city at which Teresa McKay, chair of the trades council, spoke. Here are some of the points of view that were written on this issue at the time.

“Until all women are safe, none of us are”

By Education Not for Sale Women

These events [in Ipswich] cannot be understood as occurring in a vacuum; rather, violence against women is widespread in the UK, and sex workers are especially vulnerable to violence, rape and murder at the hands of men.

We reject the false distinction between “sex workers” and “ordinary women”... That only sex workers have been murdered… is due to the relative vulnerability of sex workers, a vulnerability caused in part by current laws on prostitution and the widespread societal stigmatisation of these women.

We recognise that the killer is acting out of a deeply-rooted hatred of women, and that he is a risk to all women. Furthermore, we are proud to stand in solidarity with sex workers in their struggles for safety and justice, including efforts to unionise sex workers.

We call on the police force in Ipswich to enact an immediate moratorium on enforcing any outstanding warrants against sex workers, at least until the killer is caught. It is common sense not to make it any more difficult for the targeted women to pass information to the police and seek out police assistance.

We call for an immediate cessation on the imposing of ASBOs against sex workers, and on “street sweeps” and arrests of sex workers. This only forces them to work in more isolated and dangerous areas, putting them at increased risk of violence.

We call for the de-criminalisation of prostitution in the belief that sex workers have the right to work, the right to safe working conditions and the right to organise as workers to determine those conditions.

As many sex workers are in sex work because of an addiction to drugs, we call for an immediate review of current legislation regarding illegal drugs and the treatment of drug addicts, bearing in mind that drug addiction is a medical problem, not a moral failing.

We call on increased funding for rehabilitation programs, women’s refuges, job retraining programmes, and a general strengthening of the welfare state, so that no one need resort to sex work due to a lack of any other options.

Finally, we call for the recognition that violence against sex workers is just one aspect of violence against women and the widespread sexism embedded in our society. This sexism is intertwined with systematically embedded racism, homophobia and class exploitation, and they must all be fought together. Until all women, regardless of race, class, or sexual orientation are safe, none of us are.

www.socialistfeminist.org.uk

“Hypocrisy and exploitation”

International Union of Sex Workers statement on the Ipswich murders

Sex workers are currently forced into dangerous working situations by the illegality surrounding their profession... Decriminalisation would allow them to work safely and be protected by European labour laws. It is also an essential starting point to reducing stigma against sex workers which leads to their being even more vulnerable to attack.

Prostitutes need safe areas in which to work, be that safety zones on the streets or brothels where they can work together indoors. Sex workers are part of the community and should be treated as such, not as a public disorder problem. We believe ways can be found to manage street sex work through cooperation with workers so that any inconvenience to the community is minimised. Police forces need to develop strategies to decrease violence in cooperation with workers, groups and unions such as ourselves, and the local community...

International human rights and workers’ rights laws, already in place, must be applied to sex workers as much as to other members of society... The Declaration of the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe, endorsed in the European Parliament in October 2005, identifies human and labour rights that sex workers are entitled to under international law. These include: the right to life; the right to liberty and security of person; the right to be protected against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation; the right to equal protection of the law; and the right to work, to free choice of employment and just and favourable conditions of work.

The Sex Workers in Europe Manifesto, endorsed at the same time, represents the voices of sex workers from across Europe. It states: “We condemn the hypocrisy within our societies where our services are used but our activities are criminalised and legislation results in our exploitation and lack of control over our work and lives.”

www.iusw.org

Poverty and prostitution

From the English Collective of Prostitutes

The police are telling women to look out for each other and come forward with information. But whatever safety systems that women have and will work out among themselves, they can never substitute for the police doing the job that the public overwhelmingly wants them to do — protect sex workers from rape and other attacks.

Over 70% of prostitute women are mothers. As poverty, homelessness and debt go up and women’s wages go down, more women (especially with Xmas round the corner) are forced into prostitution to support themselves and their families. Every women is some mother’s daughter, someone’s sister, aunt, beloved friend... Every life is of value.

www.prostitutescollective.net

"Prostitution is harmful"

Scottish Socialist Party Executive member Mhairi McAlpine

The SSP is unequivocal in its condemnation of prostitution as a legitimate activity. We see it as sexual abuse perpetrated, primarily on the vulnerable, in exchange for payment. 95% of women working in street prostitution are addicted to Class A drugs, the average age of entry into prostitution in the UK is 14 and women engaged in prostitution are overwhelmingly likely to be survivors of child abuse.

The current strategy — where the act of prostitution is legal, however many of the aspects around it are illegal is simply not working. Cornton Vale regularly houses women who were unable to pay the fines associated with this activity, its twilight legal status means that physical violence within prostitution is endemic and with minimal recourse to formal justice procedures and the vulnerable nature of those engaged in the industry mean that they are easy targets for extremely violent men — as events in Ipswich and earlier this year in Glasgow have demonstrated.

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