It is estimated that there are over 5,000 women working as prostitutes on Britain's streets. These women are increasingly drawn to the trade by the need to pay for hard drugs, and they risk violence and disease to fund their habits.

21-year-old [name removed] has been working as a prostitute in Sheffield's red light district, known as the Beat, for five years.

She is desperate to stop, but feels that it is the only option. Her nightly trips to the Beat simply earn her enough money to fund her drug addiction. Despite being on a drug rehabilitation programme, she cannot seem to kick the habit.

[name removed] is not alone, research by the Home Office shows that there are over 2,600 convictions for soliciting offences every year in England and Wales and over 90% of street prostitutes take heroin or crack cocaine.


The Beat is in a residential area where single mum [name removed] has been moved to by the city council. [name removed] is trying to shield her three-year-old daughter [name removed] from the realities of living in a red light district.

She has submitted evidence to the police explaining her distress at living alongside prostitution and wants something to be done about it urgently.

vertigo,

why are you posting this and do these two women want their full names on a public forum??

Originally posted by massive
vertigo,

why are you posting this and do these two women want their full names on a public forum??

MOD: Names removed.

Why would you think that they were real names??

This just looks like someones sociology homework.

hi massive,

i appreciate your concern, however these details can be found on the bbc news website on the below link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/4264321.stm

as you can see from the link there has also been a documentary following the individuals. The reason for the post was to see the views of people regarding these individuals/issues in Sheffield City.

It isnt possible for me to send a private message yet, so would it be possible that i can redit the original post as this information is public domain Max/Admin.

I watched a programme on that tuesday.....prooves that sheffield aint that good as people keep maiking it out to be.

MOD: The whole original post is just a cut and paste from the BBC website. If people want the names then I suggest they follow the link.

You are a moderator of this forum Max and i respect your post. my question regarding the re-edit would of been requested via pm but unfortunley i did not have that privilege.

Originally posted by vertigo
You are a moderator of this forum Max and i respect your post. my question regarding the re-edit would of been requested via pm but unfortunley i did not have that privilege.

With that attitude towards mods you are well and truly welcome to this forum. :thumbsup:

You may be interested in this previous discussion about tolerance zones in Sheffield:

Prostitution, tolerance zones (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23515)

Perhaps if the law banning prostitution were reviewed and relaxed, these 'girls' would had safe places to go and then they could be helped with the drug addiction - and protected from the violence they regularly suffer.

Prostitution is always going to happen - isn't it one of the 'oldest professions'? IMHO if this was taken off the streets it would be better for everyone concerned. No-one wants to live in a 'Red Light Area', it's not pleasant and is intimidating.

The 'chicken shack's' in other countries seem to work reasonably well - perhaps it would be a stop forward in this country?

From what I gathered in the programme last night, these young girls often go on the streets to earn money, they need drugs in order to do what they do - this then becomes an addiction and leads them into an ever downward spiral from which they find it virtually impossible to escape from.

Originally posted by underground1
I watched a programme on that tuesday.....prooves that sheffield aint that good as people keep maiking it out to be.

But we do have decent spelling and grammar.....;)

Seriously, every city in the UK has a Red Light district and Rotherham, I'm sure, is no different.

So, legalise prostitution and make it a 'licensed profession'? That might be the best bet. A license has to be obtained, the granting of which is dependent upon medical examination. If teh girl wishes to work from home, then planning permission has to be obtained, although wherever possible the women work in brothels. Streetwalking to be banned, as well as unlicensed prostitution.

And then the Tax Man and VAT Man can get busy as well!

Joe

With you on this one Joe

Originally posted by Hels
Perhaps if the law banning prostitution were reviewed and relaxed, these 'girls' would had safe places to go and then they could be helped with the drug addiction - and protected from the violence they regularly suffer.

Prostitution is always going to happen - isn't it one of the 'oldest professions'? IMHO if this was taken off the streets it would be better for everyone concerned. No-one wants to live in a 'Red Light Area', it's not pleasant and is intimidating.

The 'chicken shack's' in other countries seem to work reasonably well - perhaps it would be a stop forward in this country?

From what I gathered in the programme last night, these young girls often go on the streets to earn money, they need drugs in order to do what they do - this then becomes an addiction and leads them into an ever downward spiral from which they find it virtually impossible to escape from.
I completely disagree. ' legalised' zones merely make it easier for girls / women to be abused. This is the opinion of the police, and I go with this too. The problem is DRUGS, not prostitution. Legalising prostitution just gives more leeway for pimps and dealers.

100% of street girls are on drugs in Sheffield. There is no dignity in these in this 'profession. this is about DRUGS, and CONTROL, not choice.

There is no romantic notion about 'the oldest profession'. This is total cobblers.

Don't be fooled. 'Legal' zones merely escalate the problems.

To quote Maxine Allen - a street prostitute in sheffield... "It's horrible, really horrible, sometimes I just close my eyes and I try and think I'm in a different place "

:cry:

My understanding from this paticualr individuals point of view (please check the bbc link above for more info) is that they feel as if they are 'different' from everyone else because what they do/did , therefore they have taken on quite a large physiological effect on how they view themselves, their lifestyle and have formed stereotypical atittude inside themselves on what/would others think of them if they knew what they did

this is more of an emotion inside the person but in actual fact what people would think is actually not half as bad as what this person feels inside on how they think the outside world view them, which then could possibly add for the need of somthing that could get them 'sorted' but not to rule out the fact that people in this occupation te have maybe been users...before...or after...

either way im reluctant to believe the opinon of one of the sheffield community member watch who states 'it a vicious circle, they need the drugs to go to work, they pay for more drugs when work has finished to forget about what has happened and this is why the girls are on the still on the street, to make money for their habits'

this paticular physiological process here is correct and this what some may carry out a 'fix loop' on a regular basis.

but however to blame this for them neverendlessly working in the street, because they have a drug habit is wrong & if this is how others portray them and most importantly, if this outlook is taken on board by the individual in question then this could lead to the dentrimental affects to this persons attitude inside ..again towards life...& maybe start a drug trend based on this formed opinion of them when in hypothetical terms this person could have a choice to continue to work and stop drugs or vice versa but if it was the other way round it could lead to financial difficulty for the drugs if no work was made.

a method that has worked before is getting financally comfortable, regulating their drug habits (not to neccessarly say 'right.. im gonna quit tomorrow..' or 'right...tonight is the last night ..)

once that path has been met it makes it an awful lot easier.

all of us have choices & actions in what we do.

We all have choices but some have more choices than others. I strongly believe that legalising prostitution would be of more benefit than trying to constantly punish those who are involved.

At the end of the day it will always happen - the very least we should do is make it as safe as possible. This can only be done (IMHO) by giving these girls the security of a place to work where they can be monitored and protected.

I am not talking about 'tollerance zones' I am talking about proper places like the Chicken Shacks in other countries. If people choose to do this then they should at least be able to do it safely.

But that misses the point that 99.99% of street workers don't want to do it in the first place. They are there simply to feed a drug habit.

Surely we should be arresting pimps and punters, not making it easier and more comfortable for them?

Don't agree with you Tony, if all the girls did it only because they are drug users then why did it begin well before drugs were the biggest issue?

Girls do it for the money - maybe these days they spend it on drugs but it hasn't always been the case and i don't believe that is the reason some of them start.

If someone wants to earn a living this way then what's wrong with that? The fact is, they should be able to do it in as safe an environment as possible. If, through providing a safe environment girls who are on drugs can be helped to come off drugs then all the better.

But, if no-one took drugs there would still be prostitution. Pretending drugs is the only reason is, I believe, a blinkered view of the issues.

You miss my point, as I clearly said 'street workers'.

There are plenty of girls doing it in safe environments for the money, or (shock horror) pleasure!

You can't stop it, but hiding it away will not help those girls.

Having safe environments such as these chicken shacks, what a horrible image that conjures up, will not prevent the street workers working the streets. In legalised brothels, where they exist, the staff are expected to undergo health checks at regular intervals which they have to pay for.

I shouldn't imagine that drug dependant street workers would list health checks very highly on their 'must haves'. Once they are removed from the brothels and banned from working the streets they will find somewhere else to ply their trade, somewhere a lot less safe than the streets they currently occupy.

There will never be a way to stop prostitution but one way to reduce it would be to continually name and shame the clients.

I wonder what kind of people the clientele for prostitutes are. Does anyone know of any research about this? I dont know anyone who visits prostitutes but then I guess its not the kind of thing someone would just tell you, is it!!

I just wonder about motives (ok you'd think thats fairly obvious, but people must have different ones) and also why some people would use a prostitute and others wouldn't.

I attended a recent meeting on the subject of street workers. This was part of the Home Office consultation on prostitution.

I learned that most prostitutes ran away from home or ran away from care (children's home/foster home). They have a problem with self-esteem, and a lot fall into the hands of pimps, who control them - sometimes through the use of drugs. It is estimated that 95% of Sheffield's prostitutes are on hard drugs (heroin/crack cocaine).

Prostitutes willing to come off the game need access to emergency accommodation, drug rehabiliation and support. I discovered that the council, health authority and various agencies work together to provide this help. Much credit to these organisations for providing the right help at the point it is needed.

However, no-one can force prostitutes to stop their trade. It is allegedly the oldest profession. Whilst there are punters willing to pay for sexual gratification, there will be prostitutes. Personally, I would look to providing a comfort zone or a licensed brothel. At least their activities would be regulated, health checks provided, and street nusiance would hopefully be eliminated.

Well said redrobbo. I used to deal with businesses around the Rutland Road area and saw some terrible sights. Young girls as young as 13/14 selling themselves. There have been young women murdered in that area. The pimps are clearly visible sat in their cars keeping an eye on them. If a secure zone was set up it would offer these young girls at least some protection. The police or council could set up a database of customers vehicle registration to fall back on in if needed too.

I think some of the punters get off on abusing women, a normal loving relationship wouldnt provide the trigger they need. They are sad people.