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 is why as an organisation we feel comfortable both challenging the lack of resources available to those who are being exploited as well arguing for decriminalisation of the buying and selling of sex.

People who are being sexually exploited but don’t feel they are part of the sex work community are unable to access resources as these are often limited to those experiencing domestic abuse and coercion without recognition of the fact that coercion can happen outside of a relationship.

At the same time we support sex workers who feel the system at best doesn’t meet their needs or is explicitly harmful. As adults selling sexual services to other consenting adults, the community feel stigmatised and unable to seek support from vital services, such as health services and the police as a result. Conflating sex work and exploitation will make this situation considerably worse.

Taking into account the above, it’s important that Basis Yorkshire makes a clear stand against the criminalisation of buying and selling of sex, including when this is done indirectly by conflating sex work and sexual exploitation. As this becomes more relevant over the next few weeks and months, we call on politicians and those involved in shaping these policies to consider the evidence from sex worker led groups here in the UK and elsewhere including those whose experiences and opinions have been captured in substantial amount of research that now exists nationally and internationally that supports decriminalisation.