Why Report? Sex Workers who Use NUM Opt out of Sharing Victimisation with Police

Bowen, Raven; Hodsdon, Rosie; Swindells, Kerri; Blake, Charlotte

doi:10.1007/s13178-021-00627-1

Cited by 15 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…We will be consulting with sex workers about hate crime as it is on our report form and we suggested this in our submission to the Law Commission that conducted a consultation on hate crime laws in 2020. 68 For scholarship which has a participatory and collaborative ethos and practice, there is an urgent need for research that is led by community consultation as there has been in so many communities that routinely experience hate crime. 69 These realities are debates below in relation to what the hate crime literature says on the usefulness of the concept.…”

Section: • Crown Prosecution Service Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Work, Hate Crime and the Criminal law

Sanders

Scoular

Campbell

2022

The Journal of Criminal Law

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It has been well established at a global level that sex workers are often victims of direct violence in the course of their work, targeted by their ‘perceived vulnerability’ as a marginalised group. In one police force in England (Merseyside) since 2006 they have addressed this victimisation through adopting a ‘hate crime’ approach to policing crimes against sex workers. The aims of this paper are first, to review the implementation of the hate crime model applied to crimes against sex workers; second, to explore how police forces are adopting the policy across the UK, and the operational barriers to doing so; and third to explore the legal, theoretical and critical issues raised by treating crimes against sex workers as a type of hate crime through policing models. The conclusion weighs up some of the challenges to expanding the current law to include sex workers as a target group for increased protection, assessing that a fully funded policing approach may well be sufficient alongside law reform around decriminalisation of sex work. This article will draw on data from police forces in England. We acknowledge that much more work is needed to establish the sex work community's views on the value, if any, of the hate crime approach.

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Section: • Crown Prosecution Service Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Work, Hate Crime and the Criminal law

Sanders

Scoular

Campbell

2022

The Journal of Criminal Law

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“…For any hate crime policy to work, it would require police officers (and others working in the criminal justice system) to put their assumptions about sex workers to one side and recognise agency in their involvement with the industry, their boundaries and ability to engage in and withdraw consent. Research has found that even those sex workers who had positive experiences with the police did not expect respectful treatment (Klambauer, 2018) and there is vast evidence that the police perpetuate violence and stigma, codify gender norms, and stereotype sex workers based off media representations (Klambauer, 2019;Bowen et al, 2021;ICRSE, 2020).…”

Section: Peer-reviewed Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

The Limits of Vulnerability: Arguments Against the Inclusion of Sex Workers Within Hate Crime Policy in England and Wales

Holt¹,

Gott²

2022

IJGSL

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On 23rd September 2020, the Law Commission launched their Hate Crime consultation paper, which suggested including ‘sex worker’ as a protected characteristic when considering hate motivated violence. The inclusion of sex workers in policing hate crime policy had already been implemented in Merseyside in 2002, and Yorkshire in 2017 (Sanders and Campbell, 2020). From a policing perspective, this approach has its advantages: it encourages a more coordinated approach to crimes against sex workers, as well as having an educative and awareness raising function around the discrimination they face (Sanders and Campbell, 2020; Chakoraborti and Garland, 2012). However, those who advocate for this approach caution that whilst it is an important first step to address crimes against sex workers, it can only go so far in a legal framework where sex work is still criminalised (Campbell, 2019; Campbell, 2014; Platt et al., 2018). This article challenges the idea that increased hate crime legislation will reduce violence against sex workers, suggesting that it may in fact put sex workers in even greater harm by increasing their interaction with the police. We emphasise that there is limited evidence that higher sentences deter hate crime offenders, and it is almost impossible to assess whether this type of legislation even provides the educative function it claims to. This paper argues that full decriminalisation of sex work is the most effective first step to responding to violence against sex workers, rather than increased legislation and tougher sentencing (CPS, 2019). In doing so, we add to the growing body of literature evidencing how full decriminalisation increases safety of sex workers. We also aim to contribute to a broader understanding that harsher sentencing and increased carceral responses do not best protect vulnerable communities of any sort.

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“…Repeat victimisation is common, as is significant under-reporting of crimes to the police [8][9][10][11]. Even when cases do get reported, sex workers often experience discrimination [12,13] and mixed responses from police officers [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding sexual violence in sex working populations—Law, legal consciousness and legal practice in four countries (2021–2023): Study Protocol v2.5

Scoular,

Sanders,

Balderston

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Background Globally, the most important human rights and public health issue that sex workers face is their experience of high levels of violence (Kinnell, 2006, Kinnell, 2008, Alexander, 1999). Deering’s systematic review estimated levels of sexual violence in sex working populations as being between 14% and 54% (Deering et al, 2014). Aims This international, robust mixed methods study will explore the frequency of sexual violence against sex workers, barriers in criminal justice and the legal consciousness of sex workers regarding their rights and consent. The hypothesis to be tested is that the safety of sex workers from sexual violence is mediated by the differing legal contexts of sex work environments. We will compare experiences across research sites in the context of legalisation (Nevada USA), client criminalisation (Northern Ireland), decriminalisation (New Zealand) and partial criminalisation (England, Scotland and Wales) [henceforth ESW]. Methods An international survey (n = 1,000) will be translated into several languages, to disaggregate experiences by demographic categories (gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation) and sex work sector (including online, street-based and brothels). Interviews (n = 100) with sex workers, police, prosecutors and service providers will be thematically analysed to explore legal consciousness, why the patterns occur and contextualise the statistical findings. These data will be supplemented with comparative legislative, policy and case analysis. Research study data will be used to compare the social factors and legal norms shaping sex workers experiences of sexual violence, justice and support interventions. Recommendations for a ‘best practice’ review of legal improvements and support interventions will be produced following completion of the study. Given the sensitive nature of the research, robust ethical and data protection mechanisms are in place. The research has ethical approval from each research site, an Advisory Board and trained, paid peer researchers to assist with data gathering, analysis and dissemination. The study will report findings in 2023/2024.

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Why Report? Sex Workers who Use NUM Opt out of Sharing Victimisation with Police

Cited by 15 publications

References 15 publications

Sex Work, Hate Crime and the Criminal law

Sex Work, Hate Crime and the Criminal law

The Limits of Vulnerability: Arguments Against the Inclusion of Sex Workers Within Hate Crime Policy in England and Wales

Understanding sexual violence in sex working populations—Law, legal consciousness and legal practice in four countries (2021–2023): Study Protocol v2.5

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