NUM Statement on the Conviction of Neil Corbel
25 January 2022

We are pleased to see the conviction of Neil Corbel, a member of the Metropolitan Police Service, following repeated voyeurism and non-consensual filming offences, many of which targeted sex workers. 

At NUM, we see the impacts of a lack of trust in police every day. We have seen the numbers of sex workers choosing to engage with police drop significantly. We have seen the emotional and traumatising impact that poor, disrespectful and stigmatising policing has had on sex workers, even those who are turning to them for help in the face of trauma. We have published evidence from our members as to why they choose not to report to the police as a result of this. 

The role of the police is a dichotomous one; one in which they are both intended to be the guardians of society while also being representative of it. This representation includes stigmas and discrimination which exist throughout our society – misogyny, racism, ableism, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, whorephobia. NUM exists because of these stigmas, and we wish to eradicate them.

We work towards a society where sex workers are respected, not seen as ‘easy targets’ for perpetrators and instead able to access justice, safety and support in the same ways other members of society take for granted. We particularly would like to see an end to those in positions of public trust being able to exercise this power to harm sex workers with impunity. 

We are currently working on initiatives and research projects, including our Racial Justice for UK Sex Workers project, to explore the barriers sex workers face in accessing services and people in positions of public trust and power. We are interested in ensuring that sex workers are supported to navigate complaints processes and seek true remedy for the harms perpetrated upon them. 

We have also considered the harms caused by non-consensual filming and other forms of image-based abuse as part of our Visual Violence project. The full results from this will be released soon. This project has been conducted in collaboration with ECP, SWARM, SWAI and Umbrella Lane.

We would like to thank everyone who has come forward with evidence against the perpetrator for their courage in speaking up so that no one else is further harmed by him. 

If you are a sex worker and have experienced harm at the hands of those in places of public trust, feel safe in reporting this to NUM. 

Although NUM maintains strong working relationships with police officers, forces, and officials across the UK, we no longer seek out police sources for funding of our victim/survivor support services for sex workers. Our engagement with police is led by the needs and wishes of sex workers themselves, as we work towards a system and a society where sex workers can exist and operate without fear of violence, discrimination and stigma.

Please use our report form or contact our casework team at casework@nationaluglymugs.org.