The seventh chapter of ‘Supporting Students Impacted by the Sex Industry: A Handbook for Universities’ Read More
Handbook for Universities: 6. Supporting students
The sixth chapter of ‘Supporting Students Impacted by the Sex Industry: A Handbook for Universities’ Read More
Handbook for Universities: 5. A holistic approach to student financial hardship
The fifth chapter of ‘Supporting Students Impacted by the Sex Industry: A Handbook for Universities’ Read More
Handbook for Universities: 4. What are we talking about when we talk of the sex industry?
The fourth chapter of ‘Supporting Students Impacted by the Sex Industry: A Handbook for Universities’ Read More
Handbook for Universities: 3. Policy and codes of behaviour
The third chapter of ‘Supporting Students Impacted by the Sex Industry: A Handbook for Universities’
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Handbook for Universities: 2. Why Now?
Why is student involvement in the sex industry an issue at this moment in time? What are the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that have brought this about? Read More
Handbook for Universities: 1. Introduction
The introduction to the Nordic Model Now! Handbook for Universities. Read More
Handbook for Universities: The Foreword
The Foreword to the Nordic Model Now! Handbook for Universities – by Professor Kathleen Richardson. Read More
‘Exiting sex work is easier said than done’
“The way out isn’t quite so easy as the way in and the longer you stay on the fringes of society, the harder it becomes to bridge those gaps.” Read More
‘I was groomed into sex work by an ex’
“I was groomed into sex work by an ex; it started simple. Small, like drops of water into a bucket…” Read More
Exiting prostitution: what do women need?
This post provides access to audio and video recordings of our ‘Exiting prostitution: what do women need?’ webinar that was held on 22 September 2021. Read More
Victim blaming in the context of prostitution
Audio and video recordings of our ‘Victim blaming in the context of prostitution’ webinar that was held on 4 August 2021. Read More
The Nordic Model of Prostitution: A change in perspective in protection of human dignity
An exceptional and comprehensive piece setting out the arguments for the Nordic Model approach to prostitution and debunking several of the common myths about it. Read More
Feeding john
A poem by Andrea Heinz informed by her own experiences in prostitution. Read More
‘If I had known the truth about what awaited me in that brothel, I would never have been there’
In this brilliant article based on her own experiences, Tara articulates the reality of life in a UK brothel. Essential reading. Read More
Prostitution in Hungary and the sex trafficking of Hungarian women and girls
László, a Hungarian man, writes about prostitution and sex trafficking in Hungary and the connections with the legal brothels in Western Europe. Read More
Talking with men and boys about prostitution: the transcript
Must-read transcript of our ‘Talking with men and boys’ webinar that was held on 11 April 2021. Read More
‘Prostitution and the pornography that supports it destroy women. Why is that so hard to understand?’
“It’s impossible to assess the damage while you are in it because then, you would not do it. So obviously, you lie to yourself and everyone else…” Read More
Obfuscation, denial and hubris: The government’s VAWG strategy
Statement from Nordic Model Now! on the UK government’s new strategy for tackling violence against women and girls. Read More
Who will remember the sex trafficking victims?
Considering the monstrous profits that third parties can make from women’s prostitution, it’s not hard to figure out why some people might want to remove it from the scope of anti-trafficking law. Read More
The lies come easily: A review of ‘The Service’ by Frankie Miren
A critical review of ‘The Service’ by Frankie Miren, which was published by Influx Press on 8 July 2021. Read More
Trauma and prostitution
Audio and video recordings of our ‘Trauma and prostitution’ webinar that was held on 6 June 2021. Read More
Does the Leicester student ‘sex work’ toolkit comply with equality legislation?
What the University of Leicester’s response to our FOI request reveals about whether their student ‘sex work’ policy and toolkits comply with UK equality legislation. Read More
Statement on the announced closure of the Holbeck ‘Managed Approach’ red-light zone
Today we heard the welcome news that Leeds City Council has announced that it is to scrap the so-called legal red-light zone in Holbeck. Read More
NMN Submission to the UK Government’s Women’s Health Strategy Consultation
This is the Nordic Model Now! response to the British government’s consultation on its Women’s Health Strategy. Read More
A brief history of the ‘Sex work is work’ movement
From the 1970s, the sex industry fought back against the radical feminist analysis of prostitution as a key part of the patriarchal system that subordinates women. Read More
NMN Response to the ‘New Plan for Immigration’ Consultation
This is the Nordic Model Now! response to the British government’s consultation on its ‘New Plan for Immigration.’ Read More
Open letter to the Secretary of State for Justice about the Court of Protection ruling that carers can help clients access prostitution
The full text of an open letter that we organised to the UK Secretary of State for Justice. Read More
‘We do not want to be sex workers. It’s not fun and it’s so damaging!’
My story started when I met my first proper boyfriend. The one to whom I lost my virginity. He had very odd sexual fantasies that I complied with because I had never really known love… Read More
Why is the BBC enabling a Nazi sympathiser to promote the interests of German brothels?
A BBC short film about prostitution in Germany under the Covid shutdown of the industry makes a mockery of the BBC’s editorial standards and stated mission. Read More
Response to the Vagina Museum’s letter to Keir Starmer MP
Our letter to the Vagina Museum in response to the letter they sent to Keir Starmer MP asking him to support the full decriminalisation of the sex trade. Read More
Sexual abuse in a care home and implications of allowing carers to organise prostitution for disabled men
Sara, who was herself in prostitution, talks of her work in a care home and spells out some likely consequences of the recent Court of Protection ruling. Read More
Statement on the Court of Protection ruling that it’s legal for carers to help clients pay for sex
A summary of the ruling and the contradictions and hypocrisies it exposes. We argue that the only way to resolve these is to ban the purchase of sex for everyone. Read More
What’s wrong with the Leicester Student Sex Worker Policy and Toolkit?
While it doesn’t explicitly promote prostitution as a reasonable response to students’ economic hardship, that’s the implicit message – along with the suggestion that buying sex is an ethically neutral activity… Read More
Talking with men and boys about prostitution
This post provides access to the audio and video recording of our ‘Talking with men and boys’ webinar that was held on 11 April 2021. Read More
Woman: human being or profit centre?
First published in the Morning Star, this is a blistering response to DecrimNow’s open letter to MPs calling on them to block attempts to introduce the Nordic Model. Read More
Statement on the DecrimNow open letter opposing the Nordic Model
“Is this really what we should be aiming for? A world where poor women and girls have no alternative but to prostitute themselves in order to survive? … Read More
‘When the client pays for those minutes, your body is his and he will do what he wants…’
I did not choose as a child to be a prostitute and then as an adult I had no other opportunities and then I was in a foreign country and since I was a putanna I had to continue even if it was not what I dreamed of being… Read More
Confusing love and sex: how the care system creates a context for grooming and child prostitution
In this searing article based on her own experiences, ‘Alice’ brilliantly articulates the disturbing reality of girls growing up in the failing British ‘care’ system and why they make such easy prey for pimps. Essential reading. Read More
Jacob Hawley: On Love? Or Entitlement?
This is our response to the Jacob Hawley: On Love podcast, “‘It’s Just Sex’ – Sex Work and the Law.” Read More
The Nordic Model vs. full decriminalisation: what do sex trade survivors say?
This is an edited transcript of the webinar we held on Sunday 24 January 2021. Read More
Sex trade regulation in England & Wales: Property, hypocrisy and the ballot box
This article, by Esther, who was herself in prostitution, explains the law relating to prostitution in England and Wales, and the stomach churning hypocrisy that accompanies it. Read More
Open letter to Freedom United calling for a rethink on its position on the sex trade
Open letter to Freedom United asking it to rethink its support for the full decriminalization of the sex trade. Read More
What services does Israel provide to people in prostitution under the Nordic Model?
Luba Fein presents an overview of the services that are provided in Israel under the new Nordic Model law to people who have experienced prostitution, along with data about the service users from a recent study. Read More
Leeds City Council: It’s time you listened well to Holbeck
Voice of Holbeck, a coalition of community groups, has today released its ‘Listening Well’ report about local residents’ experiences of the decriminalised red-light area in Holbeck, Leeds. The area is also known as the ‘Managed Zone’ because it is part of the Leeds-wide ‘Managed Approach’ to prostitution, but as one young person who contributed to the report, said: “It is not managed at all, we are approached.” Read More
Prostitution policy: The Nordic Model or full decriminalization?
This page provides access to the recording and transcript of our ‘Prostitution policy: The Nordic Model or full decriminalization? What do sex trade survivors say?’ webinar that was held on 24 January 2021.
The theme of the webinar was the debate about the Sexual Exploitation Bill that Dame Diana Johnson recently tabled in the UK Parliament. If passed, this would establish a Nordic Model approach to prostitution legislation and policy in England and Wales. Read More
‘Any girl, and most boys, growing up in care become targets for the sexual predation of adult men’
‘Alice’ sent this harrowing testimony about growing up in a UK children’s home through our Share Your Story page.
“A lot of the time surviving in the care system prepares girls for prostitution later. We all allowed degrees of sexual access to adult men for basics like food or clothing. Even beyond that most girls acquiesce to men’s sexual demands in return for things that make you feel like a ‘normal’ young teenager, but aren’t necessities…” Read More
The Debate on Sexual Exploitation in the UK Parliament
This article provides a very brief introduction to Dame Diana Johnson’s Sexual Exploitation Bill, which if passed as planned would introduce a Nordic Model approach to prostitution law and policy in England and Wales. The article then delves into some of the negative assertions about the Nordic Model that Lyn Brown MP made in the debate on the Bill’s first reading and shows that many are oversimplifications and/or are contradicted by the evidence. Read More
What I learned about prostitution in 20 years as a hairdresser in Berlin
I have worked as a hairdresser for 20 years and for all that time I’ve had women involved in prostitution among my clients. Women who are so mentally and physically broken that everyday life can only be endured with drugs, which brings them into the next vicious circle. Women who are often in need of a hug and a listening ear… Read More
The Law of Diminishing Returns
In this insightful article, Esther, who was herself in prostitution, reflects on the finding of the Médecins du Monde study that the income of people involved in prostitution in France has reduced since the Nordic Model law was introduced there in April 2016. She explains how such a reduction in income has been observed in several European countries and suggests it is related to the increase in the number of women entering the sex industry through “choice,” coercion, trafficking, and the fallout from the banking crisis from 2008 and the subsequent implementation of “austerity” policies – and the normalisation of BDSM practices through the mainstreaming of porn. Read More