prostitute

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

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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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Soul Destruction: Unforgivable is Free to Download on Kindle from 24 – 27 May

Soul Destruction Cover

Soul Destruction: Unforgivable is free to download on Kindle from Friday 24 – Monday 27 May.

Download from Amazon UK here.

Download from Amazon US here.

If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download free Kindle apps for PCs, tablets and smartphones from Amazon UK here and from Amazon US here.

Also available in e-book from Caffeine Nights (£1.95), and in paperback from Caffeine Nights (£6.99), Amazon UK (£8.99) and Amazon US ($12.21).

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Enter the bleak existence of a call girl haunted by the atrocities of her childhood. In the spring of 1997, Shelley Hansard is a drug addict with a heroin habit and crack psychosis. Her desirability as a top London call girl is waning.

When her client dies in a suite at The Lanesborough Hotel, Shelley’s complex double-life is blasted deeper into chaos. In her psychotic state, the skills required to keep up her multiple personas are weakening. Amidst her few friends, and what remains of her broken family, she struggles to maintain her wall of lies.

During this tumultuous time, she is presented with an opportunity to take revenge on a client who raped her and her friends. But in her unbalanced state of mind, can she stop a serial rapist?

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

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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