Increase in vulnerable women selling sex on the street

The number of women selling sex on the streets in Bristol has risen nearly 50 per cent since 2021, according to a charity that supports sex workers.

One25 has increased its outreach service to seven nights a week because of the demand and says some women are returning to the trade out of necessity.

Between 2022-2023 135 women were supported through the outreach project, compared to 94 in 2021-2022 - a 44% rise.

Clare (not her real name) worked on the streets for more than 10 years and said it was a "really scary" experience.

She ended up selling sex after her baby was taken into care and was also addicted to drugs during that time.

Recalling an incident when she was attacked, she explained: "One time a guy took me further than what I would've liked....my intent was to get out the car, pretend I needed a wee and run away but he ran after me and raped me.

"I thought he was going to kill me....it is so scary because there is nobody there to help you."

Clare says the weeks and months rolled into one and she described herself as a "walking zombie", often sleeping in car parks or on the streets.

She credits One25 with helping her turn her life around, saying they saved her and she is no longer selling sex.

Rachel Collins-White is the operations manager for One25, which runs several different projects for street sex workers, including the outreach van.

The charity believes the increase in women seeking their help since 2021 is due to a number of reasons.

"We work with some of the most marginalised women in Bristol so already you've got a lot of complex needs there and that's further been compounded by the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

"Difficulties with access to healthcare, housing and trauma support are some of the reasons there may have been an increase in women working on the street," she added.

The outreach van offers a range of support including food, hot drinks, condoms, harm reduction packs and a friendly face.

"Some women might come on for just a hot chocolate - and then the next woman that comes on might have just been the victim of a serious assault....she knows she can come onto the van and we will check she's safe.

"We're taking our support out to the women, and they can then choose if they access that, but it is our first attempt to reach out to women.

"From there it might be they feel able to come to our other services quite quickly, but it can take weeks, months, or even years."

The charity said it has seen new women, some who had previously exited street working, returning and some who are now using it more frequently as well.

Elsewhere, Streetlight UK is an organisation supporting women in parts of London, Sussex and Surrey.

It offers a similar outreach van service, and has seen a similar increase in women selling sex on the streets.

Helena Croft is the chief executive of the charity.

"On-street work is definitely growing, and I would say, the thing that we've noticed the most is that all the needs of the women are exacerbated.

"So the alcohol and substance abuse is worse, the homelessness is worse, the mental health problems are worse.

"We're seeing an increase in all the vulnerabilities, and in all the challenges that our services are trying to overcome."

She hopes going forward the public narrative around women selling sex on the streets can change, and also thinks a change in the law could make a difference.

"At the moment the burden of the law sits very squarely on the women, and they're the easy targets.

"They're the ones that it's easy for the police to arrest.

"We would like to see the enhanced version of the Nordic model come into the UK where buying sex is criminalised."

Clare has now stopped working on the street and got clean from her addiction to drugs too.

She said that when she first sought help from One25 she was at her "wits' end" and felt depressed and suicidal.

"They opened my eyes to a world that is foreign to me....the normal everyday things - people getting up and doing 9-5 jobs...just normal everyday life...I was seen and I was heard and I was helped."

Reflecting on how much has changed in the last few years she said she is "amazed" at how far she has come.

"I always thought that life would haunt me forever and my life has flourished and I'm very grateful (to One25) and appreciate everything they've done and still do for me now."

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