This year is Basis Yorkshire’s 30th anniversary! In 1989, a few church volunteers came together to support sex workers in Leeds by forming Genesis Leeds. But in 1995, Genesis Leeds became constituted as a charity, and in 1997 a young people’s service was established to support young women and girls being sexually exploited. In 2015, … Continue reading Basis Yorkshire’s 30th Anniversary
For Transgender Visibility Day 2025, we look at how widespread transphobia affects young people’s mental health and can potentially make them seek validation and security from unknowing predators. Being transgender is not a mental illness. But transgender people are disproportionately affected by mental health difficulties due to widespread and deeply entrenched transphobia in many aspects … Continue reading Trans Visibility Day 2025: Unseen Struggles and Risks for Young Trans People
“There aren’t enough services for women, and women need more protection, especially those who may not be able to look after themselves.” – a woman surveyed as part of the Leeds Women’s Rough Sleeping Census Report 2024. In September 2024, a large number of frontline workers from different Leeds based organisations took part in the … Continue reading Leeds Women’s Rough Sleeping Census Report 2024
Basis Yorkshire supports sex workers and women and young people who are sexually exploited. As an organisation we strongly believe that although both these areas are related and can overlap, they are distinct, and their conflation can cause harm to those whose experience is being misrepresented, particularly when legislation is formed around such misrepresentation. That … Continue reading Decrim Statement
Sexual Violence is a pervasive problem that is only growing[1], yet sex workers face specific harms that are often forgotten or ignored in favour of ‘the perfect victim’. For Sexual Violence Awareness Day, Basis Yorkshire wants to highlight the unique risks faced by sex workers and calls for the full decriminalisation of sex work, which … Continue reading Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week 2025
94, North Street | Leeds LS2 7PN | Charity No. 1120350 | Company No. 6192097