This open letter, signed by 50 groups and organisations, and more than 400 individuals, calls on the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to reject the motion calling for the ‘decriminalisation of prostitution’ at its upcoming 2019 Congress. We are concerned that many people will incorrectly assume the motion means the decriminalisation only of those directly engaged in prostitution and not of the entire sex trade, including pimps, brothel keepers and sex buyers (punters).

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23 April 2019

Professor Rafferty, RCN President
Ms Coghill, Deputy RCN President
Members of the RCN Council

Dear Professor Rafferty, Ms Coghill and members of the RCN Council,

We write to express our concern that the upcoming RCN Congress will be asked to pass a resolution calling on “Council to lobby governments across the UK to decriminalise prostitution.”

We believe that many people will assume this means the decriminalisation only of those directly engaged in prostitution and not of the entire sex trade, including pimps, brothel keepers and sex buyers (punters) – as the proposal actually means.

There is no clear consensus that full decriminalisation of the entire sex trade is the best approach. Many women’s rights activists and sex trade survivors believe the Nordic Model is better – because it decriminalises those directly involved and provides them with high-quality services, including routes out and genuine alternatives, while cracking down on pimps and brothel keepers, and making buying sex a criminal offence, with the aim of changing attitudes and reducing the demand that drives sex trafficking.

No clear evidence full decriminalisation makes women safer

Those who support full decriminalisation generally consider New Zealand, which introduced the approach in the 2003 Prostitution Reform Act (PRA), as the example to follow. But a 2008 review found conditions in abusive brothels hadn’t improved, and the women felt it had made little difference to punter violence, which remained endemic. We hear a similar story from women, such as Sabrinna, Chelsea and Rae, who’ve experienced New Zealand’s brothels.

More recent research found there’s little independent oversight of the industry. There were only 23 brothel inspections in 2003–2015 but 914 applications for brothel operator certificates in 2004–2011. The latter suggests an increase in demand from men and profiteers wanting to cash in, which inevitably leads to an increase in sex trafficking to fill the extra demand. It’s not surprising therefore that sex trafficking is recognised to be prevalent in New Zealand, with a disproportionate number of the victims being Māori and Pacific Islander women and children. Because brothels are legal, there is little or no oversight from the police.

The author concludes that when legislation frames prostitution as normal work, it becomes virtually impossible to see it outside a labour paradigm. Punter violence is therefore a “breakdown in labour relations,” and not violence against women (VAWG) that’s intrinsic to prostitution. Similarly the predictable consequences of such violence are “occupational hazards” that must be accepted and where possible minimised but never challenged. So no one asks what prostitution is for and why it’s considered inevitable.

Entry into prostitution

Most women and girls in prostitution have histories of multiple disadvantage. UK studies found 33% were “looked after” children, 72% were abused as children, 50% started before they were 18, 50% were homeless, and 50% were coerced by someone.

Violence

Prostitution is damaging both to those in it and to society more generally. A meta study found that violence is a prominent feature regardless of the setting and prostitution deepens the disadvantages of those involved.

Studies of punters find they’re more likely to commit rape and other aggressive sexual acts. Any increase in men buying sex is therefore likely to lead to more violence against the greater numbers of women involved in prostitution and to an increase in VAWG in the general population.

Can we really afford to recommend an approach that inevitably leads to more prostitution when VAWG is already at epidemic levels?

Physical health risks

Prostitution involves a series of strangers penetrating a woman’s mouth, vagina and/or anus, often with violent and prolonged thrusting. This can lead to unwanted pregnancies, infection with HIV and other STIs, and injuries to internal organs, which can cause sterility and long-term ill-health. Condoms cannot provide a Health & Safety level of protection and men often refuse to wear them or take them off midway.

A German study based on medical examinations of 1,000 prostituted women found that most:

• Suffer from chronic abdominal pain caused by inflammation and mechanical trauma.
• Show signs of premature ageing, a symptom of persistent stress.
• Had injuries caused by overuse of their sexual organs and orifices.
• Had injuries deliberately inflicted by punters.

Financial or other pressures meant that most had to continue in prostitution even when in severe physical pain.

It is claimed full decriminalisation prevents the spread of HIV. However, this assertion is based on flawed modelling and faulty logic. The UNAIDS and WHO guidelines that recommend full decriminalisation were developed in consultation with an advisory group that was co-chaired by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) under the leadership of Alejandra Gil, a pimp, who’s since been jailed for sex trafficking.

Mental health risks

Prostitution can have a profoundly negative impact on mental health. In order to endure multiple strangers groping and penetrating them, women describe “splitting off” from their conscious selves and/or taking alcohol or drugs. This can lead to addictions and long term psychological difficulties.

Prostituted women experience high levels of PTSD. One study found 68% of the 854 people interviewed met the PTSD criteria, which is within the range found in war veterans.

Mortality

A Canadian commission estimated the death rate of women in prostitution to be 40 times higher than the general population. Women in indoor prostitution have a very high rate of suicide. In one study, 75% of women in escort prostitution had attempted it.

Many prostituted women are murdered by punters and pimps and sadly this remains true in New Zealand. The more prostitution there is, the more murders of prostituted women there will be.

Sex trafficking

Evidence suggests that when the sex trade is legal (whether decriminalised or legalised), sex trafficking increases. For example:

• A study of 150 countries found more trafficking where prostitution is legal.
• An economic analysis concluded the same thing.
• And so did an extensive study by the European Parliament.

Vested interests

Prostitution generates vast profits – estimated at $1 Billion a year in the UK and $186 Billion globally. It is capitalism at its most ruthless and predatory.

Little of that money ends up in the pockets of the women and girls who are rented out for sexual use. They are the commodity that’s being sold. Third parties get rich off the back of their suffering and have a vested interest in expanding the industry. It is no surprise therefore that there’s a powerful lobby pushing for full decriminalisation.

Two years ago the BMA debated a similar motion at its annual conference. Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA Council, spoke of the unprecedented lobbying they’d received and how it reminded him of lobbying by tobacco and alcohol companies. He asked delegates to reject the motion and maintain the existing BMA policy that centres the rights of women and recognises that trafficking, sexual violence and poverty force many women into prostitution.

Representatives followed his advice, but his words raise the question of who really benefits from full decriminalisation and why there’s such a vocal lobby for it.

A brief look at how Amnesty International came to adopt its policy is instructive. Douglas Fox, a pimp who ran a large prostitution ring, was a member of the branch that introduced the motion.

The policy calls for all aspects of “consensual adult sex work,” including pimps and brothel-keepers (now called “organisers”) to be fully decriminalised in order to secure “sex workers’ human rights.” But there’s no mention that in 1949 the UN declared prostitution incompatible with human rights, nor that the policy contradicts CEDAW and the Palermo Protocol.

Amnesty failed to carry out any research anywhere full decriminalisation has been implemented. Such general research they did carry out was of poor quality. They presented the arguments as if the options were between full decriminalisation and full criminalisation – when there’s no serious lobby for the latter. We question whether the policy would have been approved if they had presented the full information.

We urge the RCN Council to learn from this and not follow their lead.

Conclusion

Prostitution is seldom a real free choice between multiple viable options. Nothing can make it safe for the women and girls caught up in it, and it can never meet the requirements for “decent work”, let alone Health and Safety norms. Accepting prostitution as regular work sets a terrible precedent for all workers and means prostitution inevitably becomes institutionalised as a form of welfare for women – while men’s “right” to buy women for sex is enshrined in law.

The ethical approach must therefore be to decriminalise those involved and provide them with support and genuine alternatives, to crack down on profiteers, and introduce measures to change men’s attitudes so that prostitution buying is seen for what it is – an exploitative and damaging activity. This is exactly what the Nordic Model seeks to achieve.

We believe that the Nordic Model is the only solution that conforms to the RCN’s obligations under the NMC code to promote the health and wellbeing of the public we serve.

The motion is misleading and there’s a risk delegates will vote for it without understanding its implications. We therefore call on you to declare it defective and strike it down – or failing that, to clarify that it’s calling for decriminalisation of the entire sex trade, including pimps and brothel keepers, and that it would open the way for multi-storey brothels in this country like they have in Germany.

Yours sincerely

Organisations

1. Nordic Model Now!
2. Build A Girl
3. Campaign Against Sex Robots
4. CEASE UK
5. Critical Sisters
6. Equality Now
7. Essex Feminist Collective
8. EVE (formerly Exploited Voices now Educating)
9. feminism4sisters
10. FiLiA
11. scot
12. FOVAS
13. Healthy Horizons
14. Justice for Women (West Yorkshire)
15. Kofra e.V. Munich Germany and Abolition2014
16. Liverpool ReSisters
17. London Feminist Network
18. Not Buying It
19. Not Buying It, Sheffield
20. Not for Sale in Scotland
21. OBJECT
22. Older Feminist Network
23. Older Women’s Group
24. Persons Against Non-State Torture
25. Plataforma Abolicionista de Salamanca (España)
26. RadFem Collective
27. Radical Feminist Alliance
28. Rede Não Cala (Brazil)
29. Religious Sisters of Charity
30. Resist Porn Culture
31. Rooms of our Own
32. Scary Little Girls Association
33. Scottish Women Against Pornography
34. Sheffield Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service.
35. SISTERS – für den Ausstieg aus der Prostitution! e.V.
36. Soroptimist International
37. Survivors for Solutions
38. The Centre for Active and Ethical Learning
39. The Judith Trust
40. The Recovery Hub Ipswich
41. The Reward Foundation
42. TRAC
43. Vancouver Collective Against Sexual Exploitation
44. VictimFocus
45. Woman’s Place UK
46. Women’s Equality Party, Scotland
47. Women’s Voices Matter
48. Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire
49. Womyn Unleashed
50. ZERO OPTION Sheffield

Individuals

1. A Lock
2. Alan Caton OBE
3. Alan Ferry, I feel strongly that the motion being presented is misguided and will do nothing for the majority of people involved in prostitution. I ran drug projects in Glasgow for a number of years and worked with many young women and men who turned to prostitution, either to supplement their incomes for drugs, or provide an income for others to do the same. As a result the young people suffered assaults, both physical and sexual, arrest and imprisonment, had their children removed from their care, and ostracisation from their families. The motion you are presenting will not address these problems in any way.
4. Alessio
5. Alexandra Goss, Midwife, volunteer host of asylum seekers
6. Ali Edney
7. Alice Bondi
8. Alisa Yezerska
9. Alison Batts
10. Alison Gunn
11. Alison Jenner
12. Alison McGarvie, Lecturer in criminology
13. Alison Wilson, Documentarian/Researcher (Political Sc & Communications background) – Working on a documentary on the sex industry in a Spanish context, yet these girls are bought from everywhere to feed the local and sex tourism market. I have regularly seen criminologists & nurses harass survivors on social media. This is completely unacceptable on all levels. Thank-you for your careful consideration of this letter.
14. Alison Wren, Have volunteered in an organisation which supports women working on the street
15. Almudena Fernandez-Alonso
16. Amanda Burleigh , Registered Midwife + General Nurse
17. Amanda Whyte
18. Amy Foji
19. Amy Wing, Survivor
20. Anber Raz, Worked globally with survivors of prostitution for over 10 years in a legal advocacy capacity. All have consistently said that women and girls should be decriminalised and buyers criminalised.
21. Angie Smith, Domestic violence worker
22. Ann Moran
23. Ann Fehilly
24. Ann Hall
25. Ann Keeling, Former Head Gender Equality Policy UK government
26. Ann Speakman, Studied subject in my degree
27. Anna Cleaves, Have run workshops with religious organisations about the lack of choice for prostituted people and the harms of prostitution.
28. Anna Rose, Retired psychotherapist
29. Anne Bardon, Retired social worker
30. Anne Ehrlich
31. Anne Farr, Former SRN
32. Anne Kazimirski, I am a rape crisis volunteer counsellor, I have conducted (published) analysis on the mental health and childhood trauma of women trying to exit the sex industry, and I advise violence against women charities on evaluation, as a charity consultant.
33. Anneli Thörnmo
34. Annie Gwillym Walker, Youth Worker in the past, experience of Street Based Youth Work
35. Anthony Martin
36. April Chabot, Survivor, Academic
37. Barbara Ewing
38. Barbara Bevens
39. Barbara Lapthorn, Ex nurse who specialised in women’s health
40. Barbara Scott
41. Barbara Wesby, Retired GP, seen women devastated by prostitution
42. Bartels Hilde, Survivor of the sex trade
43. Bec Wonders
44. Bernadette O’Malley
45. Bethany Lowe
46. Bettina Trabannt
47. Betty Hales, Teacher
48. Biba Foley, I worked with Sex Workers in my job as drug and alcohol counsellor and co-ordinator.
49. Billie Wealleans, I have worked on this issue as a Soroptimist or the programme action officer for Scotland North 2011-2015
50. Billy Jess
51. Bindu, Social worker
52. Birgit Knaus
53. Birte Spreckelsen
54. Blonska Yulia
55. Brigitte Lechner, I was a Lifeshare volunteer in Manchester and saw the reality of prostitution during every night-shift.
56. Bronwen Salter-Murison, Have interviewed street prostitutes for work.
57. Caitlin Hurley
58. Cara Scott-Prestridge
59. Carell Wingrave
60. Carl Springer, Lead local anti-trafficking team
61. Carley Stancil, I have an intimate relationship with a woman who is an exited fssw (sex worker) and I love her very much.
62. Carol Fraser, Wife of a serial user of prostitutes & hard core pornography.
63. Caroline Ayerst, As a social worker was linked to a project called Trust that supported women sex workers in Lambeth
64. Caroline Faisey, Retired Midwife and General Nurse
65. Caroline Hadley
66. Caroline Horne
67. Caroline Richmond
68. Cat Whitehouse, Former manager in services working with women overcoming experiences of sexual violence, trafficking and prostitution.
69. Catherine Brown
70. Catherine Farrar, Safeguarding Specialist Nurse
71. Catherine Jense,
72. Cathy Devine, Academic and Independent Researcher, specialism: women’s rights.
73. Cathy Loftus
74. Celia Coulson
75. Charlie Dacke
76. Charlotte Wells, Registered General Nurse
77. Chiara Martin
78. Chris Wyper
79. Christine Cluness, RGN, RSCN
80. Christine Finlayson
81. Christine Murray
82. Christine Wright
83. Ciara Perera, Work with women involved in prostitution
84. Clair Yates, Through my work with the charity OBJECT, I have worked with women who have been exploited in prostitution.
85. Claire Heather, Survivor of male violence
86. Clare Phillipson, I have worked with women and girls who have been prostituted and trafficked
87. Clare Windsor
88. Coralie Lolliot
89. Cordelia Mayfield
90. Corrine Streetly, MA in Women’s Studies
91. Csilla Florian
92. D J Gourley
93. Ryan
94. Da Choo
95. Dana Levy, Sex industry survivor (ex-prostitute)
96. Dave Rundle
97. David Savard
98. Dawn Barnes
99. Dawne Brown
100. Debbie Epstein
101. Debbie Stott, Teacher
102. Debra Bick
103. Dee Sheehan
104. Diane Cornell
105. Dionne Kennedy, Social worker
106. Donald Purves
107. Donna Robertson
108. Donna Stevenson
109. Doreen Kalideen, Retired nurse
110. Dorothee Fagard, Psychotherapist
111. Dr Ben Jameson, I am a general practitioner, working with people who are homeless, including women and men who sell sex. I have witnessed the misery and consequences of the sex trade and support evidence based action to reduce harms to vulnerable people.
112. Dr Darryl Mead, Chair of an organisation which works world-wide to raise awareness of the harms of pornography consumption
113. Dr Gautamkumar Appa
114. Dr Helen Mott, Consultant in the prevention of violence against women and girls
115. Dr Jacci Stoyle, Member of the Scottish Parliamentary Cross Party Group for Commercial Sexual Exploitation
116. Dr Jacqueline Granleese
117. Dr Judith Dodds BM BScDFSRH, I work with women in the sex trade
118. Dr Kate Coleman
119. Dr Kathryn Cooper, Clinical psychologist
120. Dr Lesley Semmens
121. Dr Liz Garnett
122. Dr Marit Gaimster
123. Dr Nina Granberg, I was born and raised in Stockholm before the Swedish/Nordic model, and all of us young girls were constantly targeted by pimps and johns on the streets then. I’ve had countless friends and acquaintances suffering under sexual exploitation (pornography, strip clubs, sex lines and prostitution). I was an active member of women’s and girls’ shelters and support lines for 15 years. I’ve worked as a security officer for 14 years, having to handle all the dark sides of society and on the streets. Today I’m a medical doctor, and beginning from medical school in 2005, I’ve met many patients suffering from sexual exploitation.
124. Dr Pam Cairns, Retired GP, Anti-human trafficking campaigner, Co Founder of The Free to Live Trust a charity working with children of prostitutes in India.
125. Dr Paul Hewson, PhD in statistics, published in peer reviewed journals
126. Dr Ruth Thomas
127. Ann Rossiter
128. E Blyth
129. Elaine Wishart , Trauma counsellor
130. Eleanor Canero, Midwife/ Health Visitor
131. Elizabeth Gordon
132. Elizabeth Matz, Retired sexual trauma psychotherapist
133. Ellen Grogan, Registered General Nurse
134. Emily Breen
135. Emily Turvey, I was a sex worker. I was groomed into the industry and I found it hard to leave. I have been left with a lot of mental confusion as well as physical ailments because of this.
136. Emma Dickson
137. Emma Leckey
138. Emma MacLeod
139. Emma Robertson, Lecturer in FE
140. Eurig Scandrett, Formerly worked in community project with dependent drug users, some of whom were prostituted women. Currently academic in sociology (in which I teach a module on gender justice and violence in conjunction with Scottish Women’s Aid). Trade union lay officer in University and College Union.
141. Ezra Burnette, Work with women who have survived the sex industry
142. Fafa Virn
143. Fhiona Sinclair, Worked with women in street based prostitution
144. Fiona Broadfoot, Sex trade survivor and front line service provider to women exiting
145. Fiona Hawke
146. Fiona Roberts
147. Frances Davidson, Was a police officer for 30 years
148. Francine Sporenda
149. Gabriella Lee
150. Geesmiek Geldof, Volunteer in a safe house for sex-trafficked women (City Hearts)
151. Gemma Griffiths
152. Gill Marchbank
153. Gina McCaughan
154. Gisele Lamarche
155. Grainne Healy (Dr), Policy expert and researcher on trafficking and prostitution, former Chair of National Women’s Council of Ireland and former President of European Women’s Lobby on violence against women
156. Hannah Bailey, Researched prostitution in a comparative study of the UK, Sweden and Netherlands. Started off thinking decriminalisation was the way, but completely changed my mind based on the evidence.
157. Hannah Harrison
158. Hayley Robinson, I’m a feminist who wants women and men to be viewed as equals in society. Women are not possessions to be bought.
159. Hazel Turner-Lyons, I have worked with victims of child sexual exploitation
160. Heather Russell
161. Heather Rutherford
162. Heather Wakefield, Ex-social worker and campaigner for women’s rights
163. Heidi Proctor
164. Heidi Worrall
165. Helen Colledge
166. Helen Fallows
167. Helen Lipscomb
168. Helen St Luce, Therapist working with (ex) prostituted women
169. Helen Steel
170. Hilary Thomas
171. Inge Kleine, Member of Kofra, a feminist organisation in Munich, and co-founder of Abolition2014, an abolitionist initiative in Germany
172. Isabel Kelly
173. Ivietta Kamienieva
174. J Anderson
175. J Gourley
176. J Tinsley
177. Jackie Mearns, Community Worker
178. Jacky Holyoake
179. Jacqueline Moulson, I have worked as a Probation Officer with women working in the sex trade.
180. Jalna Hanmer
181. James Lyon, Various contacts with those familiar with some aspects of people involved in the sex trade, most significantly including women who are sex workers.
182. Jan Goodyear
183. Jan Oliver
184. Jane Harris
185. Jane Loe
186. Janet Holden
187. Janet Warren
188. Janice Allen
189. Janice Williams
190. Jay Ginn, Sociologist
191. Jean Fessey, Public Servant
192. Jennie Hammond
193. Jennifer Forsyth, Fellow of the British Psychological Society
194. Jennifer Taylor
195. Jenny Fortune
196. Jessica Newbold
197. Jill leigh, I have worked with many women in the sex trade
198. Jill Nesbitt
199. Jillian McCormick, Ex-social worker
200. Jim Balfour, Mental Health Staff Nurse
201. Jimin Nam
202. Jinhee Park
203. Joanna Campbell
204. Joanne Snowden
205. Johanna Slothouber Galbreath
206. Johanna Wisbey
207. Josephine Bartosch
208. Joy Sturgess
209. Joy Wood
210. Jude Boyles
211. Julia Aparisi Sevilla, Feminist psychologist
212. Julia Hopten, English Teacher
213. Julia Long, Dr
214. Julia Marshall, Ex Police Officer
215. Julie A Bell, Feminist campaigner
216. Julie Campbell
217. Julie Kavanagh
218. Julie Timbrell
219. Juliette vH
220. Justin Ratliff
221. Kara Newsome, I volunteer with women who have exited the sex trade.
222. Karen Drake, Case worker
223. Karen Martin
224. Kate Challis
225. Kate Hardman, Work with women in the sex trade
226. Kate Morrissey, Counsellor and social worker
227. Kate Stevenson
228. Kathleen Richardson, Activist and academic
229. Kathleen Webster
230. Kathy Cohn
231. Katie Cosgrove
232. Katrina Glennie, I was a probation officer for 26 years and met women who had been charged and convicted of prostitution and women who were victims of abuse while selling sex. It is a heart-breaking and destructive way to earn money and has to stop. I support all of the views stated in this letter
233. Kayleigh Clements
234. Kelly Engstrom
235. Kelly Ryan
236. Kelly Wilkins
237. Kevin Rielly
238. Kiri Tunks
239. Kirsten Ficklin, LPN, 13 years of work with sex workers
240. Kylee Gregg, Survivor of child sex trafficking
241. Kym Stallworthy
242. Ladislava Zakladna, Survivor of prostitution
243. Laila Namdarkhan RN ( retired) MA , 20 years’ experience as a Woman’s Advocate for Marginalised girls/women. Too many had been pimped from girl to adulthood. Pimped, owned and eventually broken, ending up in prisons and dumped as Mentally ill in long-stay secure forensic environments. Decriminalising the sex trade will legitimise such abuse and enable pimps/brothel owners to create demand that will abuse and destroy many more women/girls lives. Say NO to decriminalisation as a profession that cares and wants to support healthy women and girls. The Nordic Model protects women/girls rights, whereas decriminalisation puts their human rights at huge risk.
244. Laura Briggs
245. Laura Isabel Gómez García, Social worker
246. Laura Jones, PhD researcher on prostitution
247. Laura Martin
248. Laurie Lyon
249. Leah Marchbank, Support worker of women trying to exit prostitution
250. Lee-Anne Menzies, Working with women who have been prostituted.
251. Lesley Craig
252. Lesley Or
253. Lesley Page, Midwife
254. Lesley Paterson
255. Liz Elkind
256. Liz Gerty, Senior safety manager – the safety risks in sex work are far greater than those permitted under HSAW Act 1974
257. Liz Swanson, Trauma Psychotherapist
258. Lorna Ward
259. Louise Bond, Survivor of sexual exploitation
260. Louise Cameron, Community Worker who has worked with survivors of the sex trade
261. Lucy Smith
262. Lucy Wainwright
263. Lynda Haddock
264. Lynda Murphy, Survivor
265. Lynn Alderson
266. Lynne Harne, I am an academic who has done research with women who were being supported to exit prostitution
267. Madeleine Heitmann
268. Magi Gibson
269. Maire McCormack
270. Manon Michaud, Survivor
271. Marcia R. Lieberman
272. Margaret Ann Cusack, Volunteer
273. Margaret BH Paris
274. Margaret Bremner, I worked as a nurse, as a counsellor in a women’s drug project, and as a volunteer in rape crisis. The Nordic model makes sense
275. Margaret M Lennon
276. Margaret Manning
277. Margaret Young, Work for a women’s organisation which campaigns on women in the justice system.
278. Maria Rossi
279. Marion Harris, Ex nurse and midwife
280. Marion Sporing
281. Marlene Adam
282. Marlyn Glen
283. Mary Cameron, Retired social worker
284. Mary Moore
285. Mary Sharpe, I am CEO of a charity which campaigns world-wide to reduce the negative health impacts of excessive pornography viewing. Our one-day workshop on Pornography and Sexual Dysfunctions is accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners.
286. Mathylde Wojiek, Volunteer in an association which helps people in prostitution to gain more independence and to exit prostitution.
287. Maura Wilson
288. Maureen, I have worked with women in the sex trade on a voluntary basis. I grew up in an area which was a centre of street prostitution, and experienced sexual harassment from ‘punters’ as a child. I also saw the way women in the sex trade were abused by ‘punters’ and pimps.
289. Maxine Johnson , Survivor
290. Maya HUGUENIN
291. Melinda Balatoni
292. Michèle A. Hecht
293. Michele Sedgwick
294. Michelle Kerwin
295. Michelle Laing
296. Mitzi Stone
297. Mónica Freitas
298. Morag Carmichael
299. Morgan King, Worked in Women’s Services with Prostituted Women
300. Morven Magari
301. Ms J Connelly
302. Muriel Petit
303. Myroslava Skorobagatko,
304. Nancy Brown, Educator
305. Naomi Self
306. Natalie Cotterill
307. Natascha Verbrakel, Survivor
308. Neil Ayres
309. Néli Busch
310. Nicky Russell
311. Olena Zaitseva, Lawyer with experience working with women in the sex trade in Ukraine
312. Olga Semeniuk
313. Olha Liber
314. Olha Tveddokhlibova
315. Oliver Bellamy
316. Olivia Windridge
317. Özlem Imil
318. Pat Page
319. Patricia Byrne, I have worked directly with prostituted women for several years and maintain an interest in their welfare
320. Paula Woods, Sexual health nurse, Theatre nurse
321. Pauline Taylor, Midwife
322. Penny Adrian, A survivor and a peer volunteer with homeless prostituted women.
323. Peter Willson
324. Philippine Lelievre
325. Prikhodko Ivan, I have had lots of conversations with prostituted women, and I think the Nordic Model is the best resolve of this problem.
326. Professor Donna Dickenson, Former principal investigator of EC project comparing prostitution policies across Europe
327. Professor Kirstein Rummery
328. Professor Richard Byng, I work as a GP with individuals who have and do work in the sex trade as part of my clinical role in our primary care outreach team. I work as a Professor of Primary Care Research developing and evaluating interventions for those who are seldom heard.
329. Prue Rundle
330. Rachel King
331. Rachel Martinelli
332. Rachel McKeon
333. Rachel Pickering
334. Rachel White, MA in Women and Gender Studies, Warwick University
335. Rae Evans
336. Randene Hardy, I am a Canadian advocate, activist and lobbyist – to prevent sexual exploitation amongst our youth. Working to enforce the Nordic Model worldwide.
337. Rebecca Abrams
338. Rebecca Ashton, Mental health nurse
339. Rebecca Harrison, MA DipSw
340. Rebecca James, Adult nurse
341. Rebecca Mitchell
342. Rebecca Mordan
343. Rebecca Mott, Survivor of prostitution
344. Rebekah Mason
345. Regina Rodriguez, Long-time activist for women’s rights
346. Roger Fisken
347. Rosemary Hunter, National committee member on national women’s organisation in Scotland campaigning for women’s rights
348. Rosemary Snelgar
349. Roswitha Reger, Former social worker with girls and young women who were sexually abused and in Munich shelter for girls
350. Roxana Stuparu
351. Rukshana Afia
352. Ruth Greenberg
353. Ruth Keszia Whiteside
354. Ruth Pearson
355. Ruth Swirsky, Did research on prostitution when I was an academic
356. S A KEENAN
357. S R Kalideen
358. Sally Jackson
359. Sally McDonagh
360. Sam
361. Sam Hutchinson, Mental Health worker
362. Sandra McNeill
363. Sara Stewart, Social worker, previously worked with prostituted women
364. Sarah Bowden
365. Sarah Cooksley
366. Sarah Ferguson
367. Sarah Gray
368. Sarah Munson
369. Sarah Smith
370. Sarah Tolley
371. Sarah Williams
372. Shally Shefer
373. Shannon Shoemaker
374. Shauna Devlin
375. Shawnee Love HHD, PhD
376. Sheena Best
377. Sheila Jeffreys, Retired Professor of Sexual Politics
378. Shernaz Dinshaw, As someone who worked with an NGO that worked with prostitutes I looked at legalisation, decriminalisation intensely including where it had been legalised and came to the conclusion that decriminalisation needs to be applied ONLY to prostitutes and NOT to the industry (i.e pimps, brothel owners, clients etc). To decriminalise all is to legitimise violence against women and it has been seen that where legalisation and decriminalisation has been applied pimps and traffickers are able to continue with impunity in their oppression and violation of women and children. Be very clear in what you hope to achieve by wide-scale decriminalisation – it must not be done!
379. Shirley Jones
380. Shivali Fifield, I’ve worked with female rough sleepers and many women who have experienced multiple trauma, and have supported routes out of prostitution for 25 years.
381. Shonagh Dillon
382. Sibyl Grundberg
383. Simon Aalders
384. Simona Gasparini
385. Siobhan Jess
386. Sonja Hartmann
387. Sophie Atherton
388. Stefania Prigoda
389. Stefanie Ettmann
390. Stephanie Howarth, Social Worker
391. Stephen Jordan, Social worker
392. Steve Rawbone, Master’s degree dissertation on Human Trafficking for sexual exploitation in Europe.
393. Sue Banting
394. Sue Laughlin, Planner for women’s health services including for women involved in prostitution
395. Sue Peters
396. Susan Bewley, Obstetrician/Gynaecologist, Academic, Research into Violence against Women and Girls, Forensic Examiner work in Sexual Assault Referral Centres
397. Susan Moffat, I worked for many years as a health promotion specialist for NHS Lothian and specialised in multiagency work addressing violence against women
398. Susan Smyth, Canadian RN
399. Suzanna Deutsch
400. Suzanne Grace
401. Suzanne Miller
402. Suzzan Blac, Sex trafficking survivor and subsequently entered prostitution due to complex PTSD alcohol/drug use and poverty
403. Sylvia Shek
404. Tania Earnshaw, Trade union branch secretary Unison
405. Teresa Rickard, Survivor
406. Teri Andrade
407. Thain Parnell, Anti-sex trade activist and writer
408. The Reverend Claudia Neely, I have worked with survivors for forty years, and not one child ever chose trafficking. Adult women all began as children, forced into prostitution by family or supposed friends. We need to help women and children, and not throw them to traffickers.
409. Trisha Baptie, Survivor of the sex trade and run an organization for women with histories in the sex trade who want to influence policy and law reform.
410. Valerie Garwood
411. Vanessa Martins do Monte
412. Vicki Wharton, Survivor of sexist violence in the home
413. Viktoriia Petruk
414. Virginia Grinevitch, Secondary science teacher, human being revolted by the rape of (mostly) women) by (almost entirely) men for money.
415. Walker Victoria
416. Woody Caan, Researched drug use (and related harm) among sex workers in the past
417. Yağmur
418. Yannica Catarina Grunewald, Support Worker
419. Yuliia
420. Yvonne Roberts
421. Zacky Bregovic, Survivor and now advocate
422. Zoe Ruddock
423. Zoryana Shypailo