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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 – Linda Sullivan, Executive Director/President of B.E.S.T. & Master Certified Coach for Victims of Human Trafficking

Linda Sullivan shares her experience and knowledge as the Executive Director and President of B.E.S.T. – Building Empowerment By Stopping Trafficking – and as a Master Certified Coach for Victims of Human Trafficking.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Linda Sullivan

What inspired you to support the movement against child sexual slavery and exploitation?

I have been working in this field since I was a young volunteer myself, for over 25 years.  I have been an advocate for at risk populations over my lifetime and became passionate about the subject of human trafficking when I first assisted a victim.  I studied social sciences in Manhattan at the New School University and became well-versed in cross cultural human rights issues. My studies at the New School University opened the doors for studies in comparative religions and anthropology and tribal studies.  My work, studies and volunteer efforts kept me drawn to human rights and human trafficking issues.

How did you go about setting up your non-profit organisation?

I analysed as many programs as I could and worked with professionals in the legal and other fields to design a holistic model that filled in…

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