Two New Blogs: Centre for Justice Innovation and Transforming Society
13 September 2023

We are pleased to share two new blogs written by our CEO, Dr. Raven Bowen, addressing some of the core issues which NUM encounters as part of our work.

The first of these is with the Centre for Justice Innovation as part of their Expert Voice series. The blog covers the core themes of NUM’s work, and the importance of how sex worker voices must be centralised in any policies created to regulate their lives and working practices.

“Law-makers must take the lead from those within these communities to implement policies that are proven to end violence, such as the full decriminalisation of sex work. We also need to increase social investments to end forced labour in sex industries, legislate against discrimination, and support labour organising and the regulation of sex industries by sex workers.”

The second blog is with Transforming Society, and explores the recent sex for rent consultation by the UK Home Office. The blog considers the overlap between sex worker survival strategies and sex for rent, and the need to tackle the underlying conditions which lead to housing precarity and poverty if we are to end exploitative practices.

“Do the consultation, learn what you have to learn, but then involve us, involve other anti-poverty groups in whatever strategy you are wanting to implement in terms of housing because the social crisis and the housing crisis still exist. New laws are not the approach to end this unless we overcome poverty.”

“We need to realise that without solving the underlying issues, we are in effect manufacturing forced labour among sex workers and increasing demand for sex-for-rent. It is the social and economic conditions that make people so desperate that they are forced to exchange sex for security.”

“We have to decide whether we can do better in this country or not.”