Charity CEO 'disassociates' from sex worker claims

The chief of a Luton charity that helps victims of sex trafficking has said she "completely disassociates herself" from comments about sex workers in a book she co-wrote in 2002.

An activism group demanded that the charity, Azalea, be denied any funding from the local council for services related to tackling sexual exploitation.

But Azalea said national organisation National Ugly Mugs (NUM) was "seeking to discredit its work" by referencing extracts from a book published six years before the charity was formed.

In Working the Streets, Azalea CEO Ruth Robb and Marion Carson wrote that most sex workers "have had some exposure to the occult" and role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.

They also wrote that there "may be a high degree of lesbian promiscuity" among sex workers.

NUM, which provides victim support to sex workers, published research highlighting what it claimed were "extremist religious views" from Ms Robb in the books.

But Azalea told the BBC that "its work is not influenced in any way by the 2002 book".

A spokesperson for the charity added that Working the Streets should be superseded by Ms Robb's more recent book, Walk Into Freedom, which was published in 2021.

That book, also co-written with Ms Carson and described as a "Christian outreach to people involved in commercial sexual exploitation", included a guide to exorcising "demonic possession".

Examples of what that meant included "flailing limbs", "destructive violent behaviour" and a "sudden change of voice or facial expression".

NUM claimed Ms Robb's comments had led the Scottish government to abandon plans to include Azalea in its proposed regional sexual exploitation hub.

Azalea confirmed its team met the Scottish government earlier this year to "explain our approach to working with men seeking to reduce their purchase of sex" but that "there was no further engagement and we were entirely comfortable about that".

The Azalea spokesperson added: "We have instructed solicitors in connection with NUM's actions and have confirmed to NUM that Azalea will not tolerate any further instances of misleading and defamatory publications."

In its letter to the council in Luton, NUM asked the authority to "urgently confirm it will not dispense public funds to Azalea", suggesting that the charity "may be in line to receive upwards of £200,000 of public funding to deliver services".

It added: "We also have significant concerns about the involvement of Azalea in Luton Council's proposed sexual exploitation strategy."

The council told the BBC that Azalea was a partner in its multi-agency work to tackle on-street sex exploitation but it did not currently provide any direct funding to the charity.

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