Working alone: sex work in Britain

In Britain, prostitutes often feel compelled to work alone because working together puts them at risk of arrest for brothel-keeping.  But working alone is dangerous.  The Guardian has the story:

Decriminalise sex work to protect us from crime, prostitutes say
English collective says laws forcing women to work alone expose them to violence

"Prostitution should be decriminalised in the UK to make it safer for vulnerable women, a sex worker organisation has said.

The English Collective of Prostitutes is calling for the removal of laws relating to consensual adult sexual behaviour, arguing that the legislation forces sex workers to operate alone, leaving them vulnerable to crime and reluctant to report violence to the police because they fear arrest.

...

"The announcement comes ahead of International Sex Workers’ Rights Day, an annual event on 3 March. The government is about to publish research it commissioned on sex workers in coming months.

"In 2016, the home affairs select committee recommended decriminalising prostitution. The interim report on prostitution said the Home Office should immediately change the legislation so that soliciting was no longer an offence, and change brothel-keeping laws to allow sex workers to share premises without losing the ability to prosecute those who used brothels to control or exploit sex workers."