Written submission from Swansea Women’s Aid (PTN0101)
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Swansea Women’s Aid (SWA) is a women-only feminist organisation that supports women and children with experience, past or present, of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV). For over 44 years we have provided a holistic range of services that are designed to best address the needs of the women and children, offering a trauma-informed approach aimed at enabling them to build their resilience and move forward positively with their lives. Service development and review is driven by the women we support.
1.2 Services include accommodation and community projects, a specialist children and young people’s project and the Support, Wellbeing, Advocacy and eNablement (SWAN) project that supports women (including transgender women) who street sex work, work in parlours and/or online and has been in operation since August 2018 across Swansea.
1.3 SWA is a key member of the local multi-agency partnership seeking to address the needs of the sex workers and our CEO is a member of the All Wales Sex Work Safety and Support Group.
2.0 Executive Summary
2.1 SWA has worked with women and children experiencing VAWDASV for over 44 years. VAWDASV has a profound impact on the women and children that is long-lasting, affecting their physical and mental health, self-esteem and life opportunities.
2.2 Regarding the women we support who sex work, we have focused on the following:
2.2.1 Who is affected, how and what are the harms associated with buying and selling sex?
2.2.2 How does buying and selling sex affect attitudes towards women more widely?
2.2.3 How effective are local initiatives and why?
Multi-agency evening outreach provision for street sex workers 2 nights a week.
Follow-on crisis support and advocacy from specialist workers.
Fortnightly visits to 3 parlours
Monitoring of online sex work to identify pop up parlours and publicise SWAN services.
Ugly Mugs sign-ups
Engagement is very good and women report feeling safer when evening outreach is available.
2.2.4 What, if any, are the challenges for those facing harm in accessing services? What needs to change?
2.2.5 What relevance does the Public Sector Equality Duty have for the way that public authorities address prostitution in their area?
2.2.6 How does the law currently treat paying for sex? How could law and policy be improved to address harm?
2.3 Recommendations
3.0 Evidence
3.1 What, if any, harms associated with buying and selling sex? Who is affected? How?
Abuse
3.1.1 The women we support who street sex work are often the victims of domestic abuse. The sex workers who live with abusive partners tend to view addressing the domestic abuse as a low level priority or the joint drug taking brings a level of dependency which makes it difficult for these women to break free of these unhealthy relationships. Often they are coerced into sex working to fund their own and their partner’s drug habits or to repay drug-related debts. Forced prostitution is recognised as a violence against women issue in Wales.
3.1.2 They often experience violence, abusive sex and sexual assaults from men buying sex and are forced to have sex many times a day which has an adverse effect on both their mental and physical wellbeing. They are often reluctant to report such crimes against them due to fear of being criminalised and because of a general mistrust of the police.
3.1.3 On a daily basis, the women risk injury and possibly death in order to earn the money they need, taking risks that cannot easily be assessed and facing the possibility of gang rape, being held hostage etc.
3.1.4 Within parlours practice varies. Whilst in general women felt safer working in a parlour, there have been examples of very controlling managers who have denied access to support services and made additional demands for money from the women, for example selling donated condoms to them rather than simply distributing them.
Online
3.1.5 Online sex workers report concerns regarding their safety due to an inability to work together under one roof as they do not want to be accused of brothel keeping. They can be unable to risk assess effectively if they do not know the man and can face ongoing difficulties if working from their homes as the men will know where they live. They report being afraid of being outed to their local community, friends and family or being reported to the DWP or tax man, making it difficult for them to report any crimes against them.
Health.
3.1.6 The women are also at risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and blood borne viruses. Men buying sex will often pay more for unprotected sex. As the women are desperate for money to feed their drug habits, they will regularly take them up on this. This is a public health issue.
3.1.7 Women’s bodies are not designed to have sex multiple times a day. The physical impact of the sex results in health issues for the women.
3.1.8 Many of the women the SWAN project supports have mental health issues or PTSD, either as a result of their adverse childhoods or the sex work they are undertaking. Either way the sex work (particularly in street sex working) causes poor mental health which compounds existing issues.
3.1.9 The drug addiction is the focus of everything which means they neglect any form of self-care. They fail to attend appointments with GPs and often suffer abscesses which are only treated if they are hospitalised. They neglect to eat food, spending all available cash on drugs and, as such, are often extremely malnourished. They fail to look after their dental health and drug taking exacerbates tooth decay. As a result most street sex workers suffer from very poor dental health.
3.1.10 Additionally, as they spend many hours standing outside in all kinds of weather whilst sex working, many of the sex workers suffer bronchial problems.
3.1.11 Women working in parlours tend to be less chaotic and have an alcohol dependency or lower level of drug addiction, but mental health issues are also present.
County Lines
3.1.12 The street sex workers in Swansea are often victims of cuckooing whereby they will be targeted by County Lines drug gangs. They force their way into their flats and “cuckoo” the flats and often force the women to run drugs in exchange for the promise of drugs. We have supported several women who have experienced this. Street sex workers are targeted because of their vulnerability and their drug dependency.
Homelessness
3.1.13 Many street sex workers experience homelessness or insecure housing which exacerbates the issues they face. Often they are coerced into paying for somewhere to sleep with sex or feel they have little choice in putting up with abusive male behaviour to maintain somewhere to stay. There is a need for specialist accommodation for sex workers.
Children
3.1.14 The street sex workers do not have their children living with them. Whilst some do have contact, for example if the children are living with a family member or supervised contact via social services, many do not and this has an adverse effect on the women.
3.1.15 If the women become pregnant, some are able to turn things around and sustain their pregnancies having reduced/stopped their drug taking. Others however face having an abortion or having their child experiencing drug withdrawal symptoms and being removed at birth. In addition if they are pregnant by a punter and they have a partner, this can result in them experiencing escalated levels of abuse.
Chaotic lives
3.1.16 Due to their life experiences and the multiple disadvantages they face, the street sex workers we support have very chaotic lives, finding it very difficult to survive and facing increasing levels of violence and coercive control. This means that their engagement with services is poor which exacerbates the issues they face. There is little trust in either statutory or third sector agencies, they lack positive support networks and increasingly feel outside of society, ostracised and condemned for the life they have ‘chosen’ to lead.
3.1.17 There is still a great deal of stigmatisation around sex working. Public perception is that women who sex work are not of any value, deserve to be at the edge of society and are lower-than-the low. Any interest in sex workers, in our experience, tends to be salacious and not focused on their vulnerability.
3.2 How does buying and selling sex affect attitudes towards women more widely?
3.2.1 SWA is a feminist organisation that believes the buying and selling of sex is part of the much wider picture of a patriarchal society. We do not believe that women choose to sex work. In the case of street sex workers, they sex work due to traumatic life experiences/adverse childhood experiences and/or a lack of choices. Given their experiences, they turn to drugs and subsequently to sex working.
3.2.2 The men buying sex are often violent and research has found:
Beyond the Gaze research found: “Sex workers perceive risks such as credibility, victimisation and loss of work when reporting crimes or engaging with the police. These factors contribute to under reporting and lead to some offenders specifically targeting sex workers. 40% of sex workers who had experienced crimes felt the perpetrator was motivated by their attitude towards sex workers (Beyond the Gaze).”
3.2.3 Women’s bodies are objectified through pornography and the mythology surrounding sex work as being something women do as a lifestyle choice furthers this imagery, i.e. women’s bodies being available to men for their own sexual gratification. Women are not perceived as equal individuals but as bodies that men can use. Set this within the backdrop of a patriarchal society and this is self-perpetuating.
3.2.4 Women are devalued by men and the lack of understanding around the dynamics and causes of sex work does nothing to improve this. It is also known that sexual assaults to women in general increase in the areas surrounding lap dancing clubs- again due to the perception that women are there for men to use.
3.2.5 Prostitution is recognised as a violence against women issue in Wales and as such is a gendered form of abuse that disproportionately affects women and is perpetrated by men.
3.3 What local initiatives are you aware of that address these harms? Are they effective? Why?
3.3.1 SWA runs the SWAN project offering support to women (including transgender women) who sex work. The project is currently funded by the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner until 31 March 2020. It has been operational since August 2018. Its services are as follows:
Additionally, the van provides the women with access to clothing, food, drink, toiletries and condoms, lubes, wipes etc. Women are encouraged to sign up to Ugly Mugs and to report any concerns and are made aware of Ugly Mugs alerts that are particularly pertinent to the local area. They are also encouraged to report any assaults/crimes against them and, if necessary, are supported to attend the local Sexual Assault Referral Centre. Other crisis needs that have to be addressed straightaway are dealt with, e.g. nowhere to stay that night, unsafe to return home.
We also have a welfare fund the workers can draw on to assist women in an emergency situation.
3.3.2 The part-time SWLO post was new to the local police force in 2018. She works closely with street sex workers and women working in parlours and the agencies that work directly with them which includes the SWAN project. The purpose of her role is to support the women in the reporting of crimes and ensure that their safety is maximised.. This includes encouraging them to share intelligence.
3.3.3 Another initiative is the Sex Work Operational Team (SWOT) MARAC that takes places once a month. Agencies working with women who street sex work refer women into this MARAC who are at high risk. Its attendees include the SWLO and representatives from the SWAN project, housing, sexual health, substance misuse agencies, probation, homeless agencies etc. Together they agree actions designed to maximise the safety of the women which are then reviewed to ensure there is an ongoing monitoring of the issues of concern.
Effectiveness
3.3.4 The SWAN multi-agency evening outreach service has been very successful in building up trust with the women, the majority of whom do not readily engage with services due to lack of trust, previous negative experiences etc. The majority of women street sex working do so to fund their drug habits/their partners’ drug habits which tend to be heroin and crack cocaine addiction. We feel it is essential to take the services to them as they lead very chaotic lives and this has proven effective. In the last 3 months there have been 181 visits to the van, an average of 7 visits a night and we have over 80 women signed up with the project. Women report that they feel safer working on the nights the van is out and that “we are looking out for them”.
3.3.5 As stated earlier, follow up work is undertaken by the SWAN workers. Without this intervention, women struggle to access the support they so desperately need. We feel the key to supporting the women is access to safe secure housing, fast track access to drug support and trauma support/counselling to deal with the difficult lives and trauma that many women sex working have experienced.
3.3.6 Crime and intelligence reporting has improved since the SWLO post and SWAN project have been in place. Certainly the development of the SWLO has improved the women’s perception of the police and women will go to her directly to report crimes. She also highlights the women’s issues within the police force and promotes best practice.
3.3.7 The women working in parlours welcome the visits and the visits provide them with a reassurance that their well-being is being monitored.
3.3.8 The monitoring of the online sex work sites has highlighted 2 pop-up parlours which the police were able to visit to assess the safety of the women concerned. There has been little take-up so far of SWAN services by the online sex workers, but it is only recently that we have been able to advertise the project on a site.
3.3.9 The SWOT MARAC has proved effective in encouraging a wrap-around service for the women it discusses. However, there is a need for a re-visit of its purpose and terms of reference to guarantee that it operates as efficiently and effectively as possible.
3.3.10 Strategically it is working well. The SWA CEO is an inherent part of the local meetings that are discussing how to address street sex work in Swansea and nationally. However, South Wales Police does not have a sex work strategy and there is not an agreed approach in Swansea amongst partners.
3.3.11 Nationally, as sex work has cross-cutting themes- community safety, VAWDASV, modern slavery etc, - it does not have any department taking ownership for it within the Welsh Government so there is a lack of strategic direction.
3.4 What, if any, are the challenges for those facing harm in accessing services (for example, healthcare; support services; advice; exit services)? What needs to change?
3.4.1 Our project is constantly advocating for women to access housing, even basic bed and breakfast accommodation. Historical rent arrears (even when they would have been entitled to benefits) often mean the local authority does not have a duty to house the women. Similarly, accessing prescription programmes is a real challenge in Swansea. The women have to attend multiple appointments (often in the morning which is difficult for them) and failure to attend leads to them being discharged from services and having to wait several months to re-access drug support. They often have to access their scripts on a daily basis which is totally unsuitable, as it leaves them prey to other drug users (primarily men) who drag them back into drug taking and hijack their attempts to become free of drugs. Ideally they need to be able to pick up their scripts at chemist shops and be able to access more flexible services that are designed in a way to maximise their engagement through recognition of the multiple disadvantages they face.
3.4.2 Traumatic life events such as childhood sexual abuse are often the root cause of their drug taking and subsequent sex working and many sex workers have had children removed and adopted. Proper psychiatric intervention is essential to prevent drug relapse and to support exit from sex working. It is very difficult to access any form of mental health support in Swansea due to the pressure on services.
3.4.3 Swansea High Street has in recent months attracted a lot of media interest having been called “The worst High Street in the UK”. As a result, the police have faced increased pressure to support the local residents. This has led to the implementation of Operation Jaegar whereby the police issue the street sex workers with S35 notices which excludes them from the area for a period of 12 hours. This results in the women choosing to work in areas that do not have CCTV cameras or SWAN evening outreach/other support services.. We believe this dispersement is dangerous and that women faced with an exclusion notice (S35) may become desperate as they need to earn sufficient money to feed their drug habit and partake in riskier sex work than they would have done without the threat of police action. The research: Sex Work, Drug and Alcohol Use: Bringing the Voices of Sex Workers into the Policy and Service Development Framework in Wales 2015 reports that “withdrawal had a negative impact on sex work with 17 (out of 40) indicating that withdrawal from drugs led them to have sex without a condom.”
3.4.4 It also flies in the face of The National Policing Sex Work and Prostitution Guidance 2019 which states:
“Displacement of street sex working should be avoided. A problem orientated partnership approach is preferred, focusing on welfare and vulnerability ….”
3.4.4 Case Study
XX is unusual in that her childhood was relatively stable. She left school and worked in a shop. However, she embarked on a relationship with a Perpetrator of Domestic abuse and he introduced her to drugs. He eventually went to prison for violence but XX was left with a heroin and crack cocaine habit. The pattern was that XX would be admitted to hospital with abscesses and be scripted. In Swansea, individuals in hospital are fast tracked onto script. On discharge she would return to her mother’s home. She is 26 so only eligible for shared accommodation. Support would be provided by the project and her family for XX to collect her script at Dyfodal but whilst there, unsuitable males would prey upon her and when her relationship with her mother deteriorated, she would start using and partaking in “survival sex”.
XX informed the project workers that is was very difficult for her living with her mother. The project workers advocated for her to be placed in B & B accommodation. She was initially refused. The worker pointed out that XX had been discussed at SWOT Marac for many months but the housing worker did not think this was relevant. The worker escalated the case to a Manager and XX was given a chance. She was been stable in B & B accommodation for several weeks and this enabled the project to properly support her. The project assisted her to access support from the Community Mental health nurse and have arranged for her to have an assessment for a script with CDAT (Community Drug and Alcohol team) which is far more suitable for such a vulnerable individual.
In the event, XX did not engage with the drug agency but continued to engage with the SWAN project and the worker was able to discuss rehab with her. She agreed to go once a place had been secured for her. The project paid for her bus fare and organised travel. She stayed for two nights but returned home as she had found it too difficult. The project will continue to support her to access rehab in the hope that she will eventually be able to manage it. In the meantime, we will continue to support her to access a script locally and much needed mental health support.
This case study highlights the challenges faced by the project in advocating for sex workers. Firstly, housing sex workers is not viewed as a priority even when they have experienced sexual violence. Support for substance misuse is challenging and often women who are in the Criminal Justice system have to attend Dyfodol which is unsuitable for their needs. CDAT is far more appropriate for their needs but there are still many problems in accessing a script.
3.5 What relevance does the Public Sector Equality Duty have for the way that public authorities address prostitution in their area?
3.5.1 Street sex working adversely affects women. The approach in Swansea coupled with the negative media interest is further marginalising the women who street sex work. We believe that under the Public Sector Equality Duty, the public sector should redress the balance and ensure that the sex workers are able to access the support they need and that they treated as being a priority need in relation to housing in the same way victims of domestic abuse currently are.
3.5.2 Prostitution is recognised as a violence against women issue by the Welsh Government and this needs to be replicated across the UK. This should assist with the way in which public authorities address prostitution and enhance their application of the Public Sector Equality Duty.
3.6 How does the law currently treat paying for sex? How could law and policy be improved to address harm?
3.6.1 The law in its current state is inconsistent and outmoded. Women working together in a building are at risk of being prosecuted for brothel keeping, whereas in reality they are much safer working together. The law needs to be able to prosecute those who exploit sex workers working in parlours, but allow women to work together safely and reduce their risk of serious harm.
3.6.2.Similarly, criminalising women for soliciting is outmoded. Sex worker research and advocates such as Fiona Broadfoot have shone a light on the vulnerability of women sex working and how they are often the victims of childhood sexual exploitation. These women need support not criminal records. The approach in Swansea is having an adverse effect on the work we are trying to do to support the women.
4.0 Recommendations
October 2019