Registered Charity Number: 1099006

On-Street Grooming

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 21/12/2011 at 09:15 PM



Sexual exploitation of young people is not a new thing within society, and it takes place within almost all communities, cultures, religions and races. However, over the last decade a new pattern of abuse has emerged in the UK, this is: ‘on-street grooming’.


‘On-street grooming’ is the process by which teenage and adult men pick up young adolescent girls through showering them with presents and compliments. Once trust has been established and a relationship built up, sexual abuse begins. Girls who are victims of this crime are often passed between friends or gang raped, in some cases in exchange for cash, and in other cases to raise the ‘street cred’ of the perpetrator. In the UK, perpetrators of this crime are found to be largely British-Pakistani, whilst it is young white girls who are their targets.


Over the last two months, this topic has been covered by two hard-hitting TV Programmes. Early November Channel Four aired ‘Dispatches: Britain’s Sex Gangs’, a few weeks later BBC One aired the programme ‘Exposed: Groomed for Sex’. Throughout both of these programmes the presenters travel around speaking to members of the British-Pakistani community, the police, agencies working with this …

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Students Turning to Prostitution to Fund Studies?

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 14/12/2011 at 11:30 AM



According to recent claims by the National Union of Students (NUS), greater numbers of students in England are turning to prostitution to fund their education.

Whilst the NUS has emphasised that there were no concrete figures to support the claims, it does raise an important issue that funding cuts may push people into prostitution and this has been raised on numerous occasions over the last year.

Some may claim that prostitution is a quick and easy way to make quick money. The emotional, psychological and physical impact on women’s lives however cannot be overlooked. It is dangerous to think that it’s a solution to difficulties in paying tuition fees or living costs whilst at university.

Certainly there are a few examples of some women in the west making vast amounts of money; however some researchers say it is short term and has many strings attached. For instance one study calculated that a prostituted woman received only 8% of her gross earnings after subtracting the substantial costs she was required to make.(1)

Research suggests that women in prostitution are 60-100 times more likely to be murdered that non-prostituted women. (2) There is an assumption that off street prostitution …

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One25 and the work that they do

Posted by Friends of Beyond the Streets on 05/12/2011 at 10:33 AM



Van outreach and Vice team – unlikely allies


One25 is an award-winning charity in Bristol reaching out to women trapped in street sex work. In our previous article ‘Susie’s story’ we outlined how women can break free from a chaotic life, thanks to One25’s team that comprises 25 paid staff, and 140 volunteers. Each year, we reach over 280 women living a life that is often fuelled by addition to drugs and alcohol, helping them to take those vital first steps in a bid to exit the streets.  We are the only organisation in Bristol specifically supporting these 220 street-working women and 60 who have exited.


During our sixteen years of activity, we have developed strong partnerships with many bodies, including the police, NHS organisations, alcohol and substance misuse agencies, and sexual health clinics. Our aim is to bring services directly to women still working the street, giving unconditional love without judging them. Over 99% of the women are addicted to one or more Class A drugs and / or alcohol.


One25’s van outreach is a frontline service which makes contact with the most vulnerable.  Rachel* is one of the women for whom the …

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Life after the streets – Susie’s story

Posted by Friends of Beyond the Streets on 16/11/2011 at 11:48 AM



In a previous article ‘What is One25’, we set out the sterling work that our award-winning charity in Bristol has been doing reaching out to women trapped in street sex work.


Thanks to a team that comprises 25 paid staff, and 140 volunteers, over 280 women are reached each year, helping them to take those vital first steps in a bid to break free from a chaotic life, that is often fuelled by addition to drugs and alcohol. It’s a sad fact that of those still working the streets, over 99% are addicted to one or more Class A drugs and / or alcohol.


We presented some of the statistics, which paint a grim picture of the harsh realities, and yet which offer hope that women can, and do, break free.


In 2010, One25 worked intensively with 108 women of whom:
• 25 stopped sex-working and
• 32 more maintained their escape from prostitution;
• 61 accessed addiction treatment;
• 32 were reunited with safe family members;
• 69 used health services;
• 40 started therapy;
• 33 were securely …

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Our comments on the ACPO Strategy

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 03/11/2011 at 10:58 AM



Yesterday ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) released their new strategy for dealing with prostitution and sexual exploitation.  The purpose of this strategy is to:


- Protect Individuals and Communities from risk, threat and harm
- Investigate and disrupt organised criminal activity
- Support or create effective partnerships
- Undertake or support research
- Support national policymakers.


This strategy recognises that those in prostitution who experience abuse and exploitation needs help and support to access health, welfare and exit services, in order to leave it behind and start a new life;  and that communities as well as individuals can be victimised and need help also. Consequently it promotes a holistic approach to the policing of prostitution “that keeps in balance the three essential elements of individual, community, and the investigation and prosecution of those who exploit and abuse”.


Simon Byrne, the ACPO lead for prostitution and sexual exploitation, writes: “There is no perfect solution to dealing with prostitution and sexual exploitation, my ethos is to use evidence based approaches that consider risk, threat and harm to all.”


We agree with Simon Byrne that there isn’t …

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Who or what is One25?

Posted by Friends of Beyond the Streets on 26/10/2011 at 12:01 PM



One25 is now a force to be reckoned with in Bristol, working closely with drugs agencies, the police and other organisations to fulfil its mission: to reach out to women trapped in street sex work, supporting them to break free and build new lives away from violence, poverty and addiction.


One25 has grown in fifteen years from a tiny group of volunteers with a start-up fund of £5, to a thriving operation which costs nearly a million pounds per annum to run, with 25 paid staff and more than 140 regular volunteers.


What do we do?


Three volunteers take a yellow-topped van, with seats inside, round the streets of Bristol five evenings a week. This is often the first point of contact with women on the streets, who step into the van to enjoy a few minutes in a safe, warm space with food, hot drinks and help and support if needed.


We also run a drop-in centre in the heart of St Paul’s, a women-only space where visitors can have a hot meal, do laundry, have a shower, and access services dealing with health, housing, debt, domestic …

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An Evaluation of The Home Office Review of Effective Practice in Responding to Prostitution

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 24/10/2011 at 01:18 PM



The Home Office has released ‘A Review of Effective Practice in Responding to Prostitution’. This review focuses on the importance of a multi agency approach working at a local level (Local Authorities and Community Safety partnerships) over the importance of a national strategy. This has its benefits in trying to tailor the responses to prostitution to each localities needs, recognising the complexities involved and the range of issues that need to be addressed in each community. The review highlights different case studies where this multi-agency local level approach has been effective, yet it is difficult to know if these cases are representative of what is happening elsewhere. What is worth questioning is whether this local level approach will be the best in ensuring that the need of those exploited through prostitution are being addressed, or whether there is also a need for an enforcement of a national strategy. As local authorities’ budgets are strained will the women involved in prostitution be left at the bottom of the pile again as others needs are prioritised?

 

A local level approach could have the potential on pressing home that this is not a story about numbers – but a story about …

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Not a story of numbers - it’s a story about lives

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 05/09/2011 at 11:33 AM



Over the last decade, as human trafficking has become a hot topic on many people’s agenda, world sporting events have become increasingly plagued with accusations of causing an increase in trafficking for sexual exploitation. Widely reported claims are regularly made about the numbers of ‘victims’ who will be trafficked to these events and these statistics are produced and re-produced before anyone can remember where they came from and how such numbers were discovered.


The reality is that empirical data on trafficking is scarce and hard to come by – and often all that is certain is that human trafficking for sexual exploitation involves a significant ‘dark figure’. In fact, even statistics on prostitution are hard to gather and most are out of date. In 1999 it was quoted that approximately 80,000 women are in prostitution in the UK(1) , whilst in 2003 in off-street prostitution in London it was found that between 4727 and 8082 women were selling sex (2). However, these figures are both out of date and estimates; the second with a significant range of possibility. Considering this; it is naturally difficult to verify whether claims about an increase in sex trafficking during global sporting …

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Language Matters

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 20/06/2011 at 10:11 AM



With the recent attention that has been given to the Slutwalk that took place in London on the 11th June 2011, another discussion has arisen around the labels we use for those who are involved in the sex industry: prostitute, sex worker, whore, slut, victim….


For many these terms remain unexamined and relegated to examples of political correctness. Does it really matter what words we use to describe those we work with?


Language, reflects the viewpoint of the speaker and is a powerful weapon that can stir up emotion and shape action. How then do we describe the sale of sex and examine the connotations for those who sell it? Given the complexity of the ‘sex industry,’ there is no uncomplicated terminology to describe the payment for sex acts.


The ‘sex industry’ is estimated to be worth approximately US $31 billion a year and it is sex which many presume this industry to be about. Yet this global industry is more accurately understood as an abuse of power and/or vulnerability that preys on the young, vulnerable and marginalised - disproportionately this issues affects women and girls.


It is VITAL …

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Trisha Baptie’s thoughts on ‘Hype and Misinformation around Human Trafficking’

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 17/05/2011 at 09:11 AM



If you’ve not seen it already, here is a great and thought provoking blog post from Trisha Baptie:


I can see one of the great things about having my own little space in cyberworld is I get to talk about what I want at all times and right now what I want to talk about is Demi Moore and Aston Kutcher’s new campaign called Real Men. They have what I suppose are clever PSA vid’s, a call for men to take pictures of themselves holding a sign that says “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” and apparently everyone in Hollywood is tripping over themselves to join the campaign. Many are applauding this campaign, saying how amazing this power couple is for taking up such a worthy cause.


I. am. not. clapping.


It’s a common sight these days: anyone who can retain a few facts, have a story or two to throw in the mix, say a combination of “What about the kids?”, ”27 million human trafficking victims” or other platitudes. Add a few graphic verbs like “chained,” “shackled,” “forced,” etc …  and suddenly you are an abolitionist.


Too many people talk to academics …

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The World Interrupted

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 03/05/2011 at 09:39 AM



We exist in a world, interrupted. A world inappropriately handled by our very own contextual experience. When we interact with the other there is an apparent gap between us. An invisible line, which is the proverbial us and them, materialises out of our unseen judgements. We silently walk pass those who might be different to us and subconsciously snub our noses at them. Or maybe you’re at ground zero and you’ve gotten used to your surroundings. If we are ever approached by someone to speak on their behalf we then, without being fully aware, filter all of their life experience through ours. There is a moment where their words get lost in our translation.


We need a better medium.


We need to bridge the violent gap between ‘us’ and ‘them’ that so apparently exists. We need to be translators of their story rather than interpreters of their story. As translators we make room for them to share their experience, we intentionally seek platforms for them to share, if they want. If we interpret their stories, it signifies that there is still a gap present between us and them – and this gap does not need …

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The Church and Prostitution.

Posted by Beyond The Streets on 28/03/2011 at 01:27 PM



Just a short walk from Southwark Cathedral lies a little known medieval graveyard which not many will have visited. Although a short walk, it is a world away from the life at the Cathedral. 
This Graveyard is known as the Cross Bones Graveyard and was an unconsecrated graveyard for women who were involved in prostitution in London. It closed in 1853 and now all that remains, apart from hoardings for development, is a set of gates which acts as a shrine to the many women who have been murdered. Memorials hang on these gates to the women whose lives were cruelly taken away in Ipswich along with countless other names, reminding us of the violence women face who are involved in prostitution.


Whilst the difference between the Cathedral and the Cross Bones Graveyard is great, they are linked in a surprising and unnerving way. Southwark Cathedral was controlled by the powerful Archbishop of Winchester who had established Winchester Palace in nearby Cink Street as his London residence and power base. Just to the north lay the City of London on the northern shores of the Thames. In the City, prostitution was illegal but to …

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