The Future of Sex Work in the UK:Changing the Law to Protect Sex Workers & Providing Economic Support

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. 

This timely symposium by Public Policy Exchange 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.

Programme

• Discuss the safety and financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis on sex workers, and look at how sex workers can get access to government support, including Universal Credit

• Assess the case for decriminalising brothels and soliciting

• Discuss the role that stigma plays in preventing sex workers receiving government financial support and how it affects their safety

• Evaluate current policy and police training on the policing of sex work and discuss the need for an updated framework

• Examine the increased violence that LGBTQ+ and BAME sex workers face and methods of improving their safety

• Analyse options for decriminalisation in the UK using the Holbeck Managed Area Zone as a case study in a shift towards decriminalisation

• Explore current reporting mechanisms and their effect on sex worker safety

• Consider means of tackling rising poverty levels in order to prevent people being forced into sex work

• Consider the merits and downfalls of different international models of sex work policy

• Review the role of outreach support services and determine methods of prioritising their funding

• Assess pathways for exiting sex work

There is a fee to attend this event.

For further information and to register for a place please click the link below:

Public Policy Exchange