Harm Reduction

In the Booth with Ruth – Alex Bryce, Manager, National Ugly Mugs

Alex Bryce, Manager of National Ugly Mugs (NUM), gives a brilliant and powerful interview, marking the pioneering scheme’s one year anniversary. He talks about NUM, the successes so far and the plans for the future, he gives his thoughts on the Merseyside hate crime model, and he shares personal experiences of dealing with the police when as a teenager he was sexually and physically assaulted, and more recently when he and his partner were wrongfully arrested and assaulted.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Alex Bryce

How do you feel about the police?

Well, not long before becoming the manager of the National Ugly Mugs (NUM) Scheme I had a particularly bad experience with the police. My partner and I were wrongfully arrested, assaulted and then maliciously prosecuted. Until the CCTV footage was produced at the very last minute (the day of our trial), which completely confirmed our account of events and proved the police officers’ to be largely fabricated, we were faced with the prospect of it being our word against theirs in court – a particularly daunting position to be in. Thankfully, this has been resolved now but it did have a huge impact on our lives and certainly gave me an insight into how difficult it can be fighting the system. If anything, this made me more determined than ever to support sex workers in accessing the criminal justice system.

It might be…

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In the Booth with Ruth – Rosie Campbell, Chair of UK Network of Sex Work Projects (UKNSWP) National Ugly Mugs Advisory Group, Former Coordinator of Armistead Street & Portside, Former Chair of UK Network of Sex Work Projects, PhD Research Student, Durham University

“In Liverpool, over the last ten years, I have worked in a climate and ethos that is progressive in relation to crimes against sex workers…” Rosie Campbell, an expert on the Merseyside hate crime model as a researcher, an outreach worker, support service manager and as an advocate, gives an in depth interview explaining why crimes against people in the sex trade are hate crimes and what needs to be done to ensure people in the sex trade have the human right to “public protection and justice”.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

num

Rosie Campbell is the Chair of UK Network of Sex Work Projects (UKNSWP) National Ugly Mugs Advisory Group, and was formerly the Coordinator of Armistead Street & Portside as well as the former Chair of UK Network of Sex Work Projects. She is currently a PhD Research Student, Durham University.

From the perspective of your many years experience working with people in the sex trade, how do you view the police?

From the research and policy work on sex work that I have been involved with and through UKNSWP working with sex work projects in different parts of the UK, my own experience is that the policing of sex work varies across forces and neighbourhoods. Policing takes place within the same laws and national guidance, but there are differences locally in policing approaches, culture and as part of that the priority that is placed on sex worker safety.

I’ve seen a…

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In the Booth with Ruth – Shelly Stoops, Interim Manager, SAFE Place Merseyside (Adult sexual assault referral centre-SARC), Liverpool Community Health, and Former Specialist ISVA for Sex Workers, Armistead Street Project, Liverpool Community Health

“Merseyside Police see sex workers as members of our community, sisters, mothers, brothers etc. who are as deserving of protection as we all are. Their priority is their protection.” – Shelly Stoops, who was instrumental in the Merseyside hate crime model for crimes committed against people in the sex trade, shares her unique experience in this interview.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Shelly StoopsShelly Stoops is the Interim Manager at SAFE Place Merseyside (adult sexual assault referral centre-SARC) and was formerly the Specialist ISVA for sex workers at the Armistead Street Project for Liverpool Community Health.

How do you feel about the police?

I greatly respect Merseyside Police for the way they have taken a pragmatic, human rights approach to sex workers and prioritise their safety.

How do you think people in the sex trade feel about the police?

The women I have worked with here in Merseyside now have a great level of trust in Merseyside Police. That has been the result of massive amounts of trust building from the women themselves, the ISVA (Independent Sexual Violence Advisor) and sex work project. So in the beginning, women would do Ugly Mug reports if they were attacked and wouldn’t dream of going to the police. Now, they will ring 999 just like any…

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