The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) is a campaigning group which supports the decriminalisation of prostitution, sex workers' right to recognition and safety, and the provision of financial alternatives to prostitution so that no one is forced into prostitution by poverty. The group works against the

social stigma Stigma, originally referring to the visible marking of people considered inferior, has evolved to mean a negative perception or sense of disapproval that a society places on a group or individual based on certain characteristics such as their ...

that is associated with prostitution, and the poverty that is sometimes its cause. It provides information, help, and support to individual prostitute women and others who are concerned with sex workers'

rights Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

, legal, and

economic rights Economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) are socio-economic human rights, such as the right to education, right to housing, right to an adequate standard of living, right to health, victims' rights and the right to science and culture. Econo ...

. The organisation was founded in 1975, and its first spokeswoman was

Selma James Selma James (born Selma Deitch; formerly Weinstein; August 15, 1930) is an American writer, feminist, and social activist who is co-author of the women's movement book ''The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community'' (with Mariarosa Da ...

Origins

The ECP was formed as part of the highly politicised prostitutes' rights movement that emerged in Europe in the mid-1970s. The 1975 prostitutes' strike in France and the subsequent formation of the French Prostitute Collective inspired the formation of a similar organisation in England.

Associations

The ECP and the US PROStitutes Collective (US PROS) are part of the International Prostitutes Collective, which has a network of sex workers in many countries of the world. The ECP is said to work closely with the

New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective __NOTOC__ The Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers' Collective (NZPC), formerly the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, is a New Zealand-based organisation that supports sex workers' rights and educates sex workers about minimising the risks of t ...

who spearheaded legislation in New Zealand in 2003 to decriminalise prostitution. A 2010 review by the

New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...

found that over a seven-year period there had been no increase in the number of sex workers in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. In the aftermath of the

Ipswich serial murders The Ipswich serial murders, commonly known as the work of the Suffolk Strangler, took place between 30 October and 10 December 2006, during which time the bodies of five murdered sex workers were discovered at different locations near Ipswich, S ...

of five young women in December 2006, the ECP initiated the Safety First Coalition to decriminalise sex work, and prioritise safety. Members include the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Eliz ...

, the National Association of Probation Officers, bereaved families, some anti-poverty campaigners, church people, residents of red-light areas, medical and legal professionals, prison reformers, sex workers, anti-rape organisations, drug rehabilitation projects.

Campaigns and positions

Policing and Crime Act

The English Collective of Prostitutes campaigned against the

Policing and Crime Act 2009 The Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision about police reform, prostitution, sex offenders, sex establishments and certain other p ...

, which originally included proposals to criminalise anyone involved in the sex industry, whether or not there was force or coercion; target safer premises; seize and retain money and assets, even without a conviction; increase arrests against street workers; arrest men on "suspicion"; imprison sex workers who breach a compulsory rehabilitation order. The ECP argued that these measures would force prostitution underground, exposing sex workers to greater danger and preventing them coming forward to report violence and access health and other services.

Trafficking

The ECP argues that discredited academic work has falsely labelled most sex workers as victims of "trafficking". Its website provides critiques of such work.

Decriminalisation

In 2015, the ECP organised a symposium in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, presenting evidence to parliament in support of the decriminalisation of sex work.

Universal Credit

In 2019 Laura Watson from the ECP gave evidence to the

Work and Pensions Select Committee The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pen ...

which was examining the link between sex work and poverty caused by the introduction of

Universal Credit Universal Credit is a United Kingdom based Welfare state in the United Kingdom, social security payment. It is Means test, means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits, for working-age households with a low income: income-related Emp ...

. She said that payment delays had led to "increased destitution and homelessness" and pushed some women into "

survival sex Survival sex is a form of prostitution engaged in by people because of their extreme need. It can include trading sex for food, a place to sleep, or other basic needs; it can also be used to obtain addictive drugs. Survival sex is engaged in by ...

COVID-19 pandemic

In the spring of 2020, during the initial stages of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Niki Adams of the ECP warned that some sex workers were continuing to see clients during England's first national

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

as a result of financial need, potentially exposing themselves and others to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, and asked for emergency cash payments for sex workers in need. In the autumn of that year the ECP renewed its request for emergency payments as a result of the country's second national lockdown. In January 2021, at the beginning of the country's third national lockdown, the ECP reported that increasing numbers of women were turning to sex work for the first time as a result of poverty.

Local issues

The ECP has been involved in local campaigns aimed at making life safer for prostitutes following incidents in certain areas, for example, the Ipswich murders of 2006 in which all the victims were prostitutes. It also objects to the actions of

Reading Borough Council Reading Borough Council is the local authority for Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. Reading has had a council since at least 1542, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, be ...

and the

Thames Valley Police Thames Valley Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley region, covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in South East England. It is the largest non-metropolitan police force ...

, which have been targeting prostitutes working in the Oxford Road area of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, Berkshire, for several years.

References

External links

International Prostitutes Collective
;News
Keith Dovkants, "Soho brothel to re-open after judge throws out police case", ''London Evening Standard'', 18 February 2009.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20121002051512/http://news.sky.com/story/650952/jam-jerusalem-and-prostitutes "Jam, Jerusalem and Prostitutes", Sky News On-line
"Should Sex Laws Be Tougher", BBC Two, 19 November 2008.

"Critics hit out at sex law plan", BBC News, 19 November 2008.
{{DEFAULTSORT:English Collective of Prostitutes 1975 establishments in England Organizations established in 1975 Prostitution in England Sex worker organisations based in the United Kingdom