People frequently contact us seeking information about different aspects of the sex industry, so we've put together a useful reading page. We hope you will find it useful!

The recent public debates and government proposals to criminalise the purchasing of sexual services have again raised our concern about politicians and policy-makers ignoring the impact such measures are known to have on sex workers. While support for this approach is frequently driven by concerns about trafficking, their well-meaning proposals must be challenged as they will do more harm than good. Read Dr Tuppy Owens and Ariana Chevalier's 33 Reasons Why the Clients of Sex Workers Should Not Be Criminalised.

Today is the International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers. We are disappointed, although not surprised, to see no trace of this in the UK press. (If you find otherwise, please let us know!)

This time a year ago, five young women had just been murdered in Ipswich. Since then, both Westminister and the Scottish Parliament have refused to address concerns about the safety of sex workers – with MSPs going so far as to rewrite the Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Bill to the extent that the legislation it has brought us bears no resemblance whatsoever to its original proposals. This has brought the ever-deteriorating conditions for street-based sex workers in Scotland in line with those of their English colleagues – the climate in which the Ipswich murders took place.

Since the kerb-crawling legislation came in, nobody’s drug dependency or rent arrears or benefit delays have magically cleared up overnight. Women are still working on the streets, but with many of their regular clients avoiding the scene for fear of legal repercussions, they are seeing a greater proportion of unpleasant and violent clients, with a rise in requests for sex without a condom and services at insultingly low prices. Some are resigned to being out all night, since business is slow, they still need to make money, and in some cases they haven’t a hope of meeting their curfews in homeless accommodation. Clients want them to leave their traditional areas and meet them elsewhere, so that the clients won’t be targeted by police; as a consequence sex workers are working in greater isolation with a significant threat to their personal safety.

Between 1 January and 31 December 2006 we received 66 reports of attacks on sex workers.

Between 1 January and 30 September 2007 – not even a full year – we received 95. These break down to: 2 abductions, 40 assaults, 1 attempted murder, 7 rapes, 9 robberies, 7 sexual assaults, and 29 ‘other’ incidents (including verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation and non-payment). Many of these harassment and assault figures relate to groups of male and female youths in cars shouting abuse and throwing missiles such as eggs and bottles.

We remain aware from discussions amongst sex workers that levels of violence and harassment continue to grow, but that women are still not reporting to police as it is normalised and they see no benefit of reporting crimes.

"I used to complain about having to come out to work. I had nothing to complain about, compared to now."
- street-based sex worker, Edinburgh

Please check out the various ways you can make a difference today: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

Website updates: Our links have been expanded, including a new Sex Workers Speak Out section. We've also updated the stats on our fundraising page.

17 December is approaching - the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

In Scotland as in many parts of the world, the focus is on 'eradicating' prostitution, based on the belief that it is violence against women - rather than seeking to protect those who engage in it. The kerb-crawling legislation has only been with us for two and a half weeks, and we have already seen its negative effects: as predicted below. Sex workers themselves know - and appreciate - the difference between violent and non-violent clients, but only a few brave MSPs and policy-makers seem to be listening. If we are going to see circumstances improve for sex workers, we need to put their safety before ideology.

On the other hand, others view violence against sex workers as inevitable, unimportant, 'just part of the job'. Recently, a Philadelphia judge decided that the gang-rape of a sex worker at gunpoint was merely theft of services. We condemn the attitude of Judge Teresa Carr Deni and regret that justice was not served.

So, what are you going to do on 17 December? You could light a candle in rememberance of the dead. You could write to press and politicians - or send them an e-card - urging them to take sex workers' safety seriously. You could donate to a sex workers' support project, or find out about volunteering for one.

To protest violence against sex workers, we set up a dolls' demonstration taking slogans both from the international sex workers' rights movement and from our own service users here in Edinburgh. You can view the photos here.

On 28 February 2007, an overwhelming majority of MSPs voted in favour of criminalising kerb-crawlers. No consideration has been given to creating safer working environments for street-based sex workers. It would seem that most of our MSPs view ideology and/or morality as more important than sex workers’ safety. Studies show that criminalisation and clampdowns on kerb-crawlers merely cause sex workers to work longer hours in greater isolation, leaving them more vulnerable to attack – as well as reducing their access to essential services. In a time when the media and general public acknowledge the high rate of violence against and murder of sex workers, we are bitterly disappointed to find that these factors have not been taken into account by our representatives in the Scottish Parliament.

You can read the transcript of the final debate in Parliament here, and see the list of MSPs who voted for, voted against and abstained here. If you have concerns about their priorities you may wish to contact your MSP to ask her/him what they intend doing about the disproportionate levels of violence experienced by sex workers.

With these issues in mind, we’d also like to draw your attention to the family of Susan Third, a young sex worker who was murdered in Aberdeen in 2005, and urge you to sign the petition for justice on Susan’s memorial website. Her killer received a sentence of only six years despite significant evidence that the murder was premeditated. The family has launched a petition for justice and also wish to see the legalisation of prostitution and provision of heroin to drug users within a controlled environment. They recognise that their views may be controversial but they want to see a safer environment for sex workers and drug users, and we applaud their courage in addressing these difficult issues especially in the light of their tragic bereavement. Please visit Susan’s Life 21 to learn more and give them your support.

Our Protect Yourself handbook provides personal safety information for sex workers - whether working on the streets, in flats and saunas, or escorting. It also contains useful numbers in Scotland for support and advice on what to do should things go wrong. Click here to download it. It's a PDF file so you will need Adobe Reader to view it, which you can download for free.

If you're a sex worker and you'd rather have a paper copy, contact us - we can send one out to you or you can get one in person if you're in Edinburgh.

Hello and sorry that we haven’t updated our website for so long. We are still here – a string of technical glitches have prevented us from updating sooner, but that should be a thing of the past now. So here is our news:

Funding

We are delighted to inform everyone that with Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland awarding us £20,296 over three years to cover the cost of our mobile unit and outreach car, and the success in our fundraising efforts, we are now negotiating a two-year contract with NHS Lothian to continue providing support and services to both street- and indoor-based sex workers in Edinburgh. We are not quite out of the woods yet financially, as the NHS funding still falls short of the cost of running the services, so please consider becoming a Fairy Godfather or Sugar Mummy - see our fundraising page for all the options to donate.

Violence

We were deeply shocked and saddened by the murders of five street-based sex workers in Suffolk in late 2006. 17 December 2006, the fourth International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, was especially poignant in the aftermath of a tragedy so close to home. As a small team, we lacked the time and resources to organise a large event to mark the date – but we did stage a dolls’ protest in our premises, and we’ll upload pictures soon.

Legal

The circumstances leading to the deaths of the women in Ipswich ought to have been prevented – access to drug treatment services and assistance for those wishing to leave the sex industry, but also safer working conditions for sex workers in the meantime. We are greatly concerned that there are moves afoot in the Scottish Parliament to criminalise kerb-crawlers – this criminalisation, already in effect in England, clearly did nothing to prevent the tragedy, and when introduced in England led to an increase in violence against street-based sex workers. Indeed, it may have contributed to the Ipswich murders by forcing sex workers and clients alike to move into more isolated areas so as to avoid police attention. We believe that seeking to eradicate prostitution altogether only drives it further underground, further compromising the safety of all those who work in it whether they choose to or not. We need to see a more realistic approach to the sex industry and the needs identified by sex workers themselves – and soon.

If you share our concerns please write to your MSP and MP and let them know your views.

On-line resources

We’ve updated our links page, but would like to give a special mention to SAAFE, aka Support And Advice For Escorts. The new year has seen them launch a new improved site with a message board and a centralised warnings board, as well as other invaluable advice. We wish them the best of luck – sex workers are part of the solution, not the problem, so we're delighted to see sex workers working together to produce these resources!

Many thanks to everyone who made it along to Drop the Beat Cafe last night. A huge thank you to everyone who performed and helped to organise the event, especially to Craig, and to Queen Charlotte Rooms for the venue. Despite entrance being free we still managed to raise £121.26 from the pockets of the mesmerised onlookers. The night featured belly dancing, burlesque, poetry, storytelling and some fantastic bands! Keep your eyes open for more fundraising events as they get organised (and see below for details of Chris' Dooks event at Leith Festival).

We have changed our fundraising page again and you can now donate by credit card with added Gift Aid by following this link. And please tell friends, family and colleagues about our standing order scheme - time is running out and if we have enough regular donors, our future will be secure.

BREAKING NEWS: our standing order scheme has been launched. This is very important as time is running out to raise the money we need to survive, and if enough people sign up to this scheme, it could very well keep our doors open! Learn more and please sign up!

Don't forget the Drop the Beat Cafe event tonight - see below for details. And on Saturday 10 June, local artist Chris Dooks presents, as part of Leith Festival, "Portrait Of The Artist As An Arsehole" - entry to this event is by donation and profits will go to SCOT-PEP. It's sure to be colourful - click here to see a flyer!

Stop press! Sorry for the short notice, but if you don't already have plans for this Wednesday, 31 May, then we'd love to see you at Drop the Beat Cafe, for an all-female line-up of poets and storytellers, as well as great musicians and a suprise in the mix! 8pm, The Queen Charlotte Rooms, Leith. The event is free although this is a SCOT-PEP awareness and fundraising night.

Our fundraising campaign is still going on and we still desperately need your support or we may have to close our doors. Please spread the word to anyone you think might want to help!

Unfortunately, the paypal link is not fully functional, and due to time constraints it may not get resolved until next week. It seems to work for some people and not for others, depending on your browser etc. If you want to donate and it doesn't work for you, you can simply login to paypal and click to send funds to manager@scot-pep.org.uk

Again: time is running out and we need your support. Many thanks.

Many thanks to those of you who have been supporting us - especially the marathon runners! We have just been made aware of a glitch on our site regarding the paypal button, which has now been fixed. You can donate by credit card by clicking here. We are still finalising details regarding our standing order scheme, and will also be collecting old mobile phones which will enable us to raise some more money.

If you're able and willing to donate, please don't hold back. Time is running out. Thank you.

This month sees the launch of our fundraising campaign to enable us to maintain the basic services we provide to sex workers. Hopefully if we are successful we will be able to develop new services. There are a number of ways that the public can support us: by signing up to our regular donors scheme, undertaking sponsored activities, organising fundraising events or one-off donations – so check out the SEEKING FAIRY GODFATHERS and SUGAR MUMMIES page to see how you could contribute.

Also, see our new Sex Workers' Rights page to learn about issues facing sex workers across Europe.

Time flies and we should have updated our website a while back ... Our personal safety page has been modified with up-to-date information on police liaison and remote reporting. Remote reporting is done in conjunction with the police to make it easier for sex workers to report crimes. If you've experienced a crime and don't want to go direct to the police, you can still report it through us.

We have a vacancy for an administrator. The post is part-time (22.5 hours per week) and the closing date is 4 August. Learn more and contact us by post, phone, fax, or e-mail (manager at scot-pep.org.uk) to request an application pack.

The first European Conference on Sex Work, Human Rights, Labour and Migration will be held in Brussels from 15-17 October 2005. The website has multilingual PDFs you can download to find out more and an on-line form to apply for a place - all sex workers and their allies are welcome, although priority will be given to those living and working in Europe.

The organisers will also still accept responses to the consultation on two draft documents: a Declaration of the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe and a Sex Workers Manifesto.

The final day of the conference will be held in the European Parliament, hosted by the Green Party and the conference organisers. This is an exciting opportunity given that, even in 2005, sex workers continue to be marginalised and their voices drowned out by those who claim to represent their best interests. Get involved and have your say!

It's been ages since our last update. We're still here though, and funding has been secured that will enable us to continue delivering services until March 2006. Thank you to everyone who has shown us support.

The Scottish Executive Expert Working Group on Prostitution has now published its first report, Being Outside: Constructing a Response to Street Prostitution. We are currently preparing a summary and a consultation and will update people on how they can participate in this. However, the Scottish Executive would welcome responses from individuals as well - whether you're a stakeholder or just an interested party; whether you live in Scotland or beyond. Please check it out and let them know what you think!

We're pleased to tell you that we're going to have a fundraising stall at Mark Thomas' shows during the Edinburgh Fringe. The show runs at the Bongo Club at 7pm every night from Sunday 8 to Wednesday 18 August. Hope to see you there!

Since the publication of Paying the Price, the Home Office's consultation paper on prostitution, a forum has been set up on the internet for sex workers and their clients to discuss the document and formulate a response.

The closing date for responses to the paper is 26 November 2004 and we urge stakeholders in the sex industry to check it out and have your say! Although the consultation paper is aimed at England and Wales, we're given to understand that the review in Scotland will be informed by the conclusions of this one. In Scotland, the Expert Working Group on Prostitution was set up following the failure of Margo MacDonald's Toleration Zones Bill (which has been submitted to the Scottish Parliament again). This group will take three years to look at, in order, street sex work, indoor sex work, and male sex work. As it moves into its second phase we will be letting our indoor service users know how they can participate in having their views heard. We will also post their reports, which we understand will be open to consultation.

Welcome to our new weblog! It's been a long time coming and we need to thank Eddie, Ben and Tara for their help in putting it together. We intend to update this regularly with news and links, and hope it will be of interest to those who work in the sex industry and their allies.

(If you don't see this being updated often enough to your liking, please feel free to direct complaints here. Thank you.)