To be upset a brothel has opened next door to my child's school

Agree. People in modern slavery are often locked in (eg cannabis factories as well as brothels) and as well as the obvious implications of that for their safety and well-being it’s also a fire risk.

While I think those places are everywhere, I do think there are some unique concerns being located next to a school for pupils with SEN. It is more common than people may be aware that SEN teens/adults often are more vulnerable to using brothels/massage parlours. They were taken advantage of for money, told sob stories to get them to take their parents cards, give them cash etc. "If you don't help us we will die/be beaten" . This can create feelings of needing help. In addition the social isolation that can come with SEN makes people are target as they are made to feel special etc. and they are more likely to genuinely believe they've made a girlfriend as compared to the reality of the situation. These relationships can become extremely coersive and are always financially abusive.

I'd speak to the Headmistress as a first point and while I wouldn't be vigilante about it, I do think it should be raised and hopefully addressed - if needed with governors and Headmistress starting formal conversations with the council.

I am very much not an apologist for people who think they can buy consent to sex. That being said, there are two brothels within a 5 minute walk of my house - the joys of city life - and I have not noticed any antisocial, risky, or otherwise undesirable behaviour around these premises, one of which is right opposite a prep school and a park. One advertises as a "massage spa" in the window. The other doesn't advertise itself at the premises and I only know about it because of a local news story. It makes me sad to think about the people working there, but it has no impact on me as a near neighbour.

By all means report it, but I understand from local neighbourhood forums that the police and local authority aren't interested unless there's significant evidence that the workers are trafficked or under age.

I agree about leaving it to the police and not taking direct action such as filming.

The only people you are going to hurt will be the sexworkers. It's illegal for them to work together for safety under brothel law in all of the UK, and your reports will probably end up with the suspected brothel being raided by police who can confiscate their earnings, property and charge them under the brothel law and throw in extra charges if they find any cannabis or anything like that. They aren't going to stop being sexworkers either they will just go elsewhere but this time poorer and with criminal charges.

If it's any consolation, discretion is a big part of the sex industry (you have noticed they don't have a big neon "brothel here" sign up for example) for both sexworkers and clients who will both make efforts to come and go as discreetly as possible. It isn't what you might have seen in movies, the women won't walk in dressed like strippers or Pretty Woman with huge heels and the men won't be wearing stained trenchcoats. Everyone who comes and leaves out of there will be plain clothes like anyone else and not drawing attention to themselves.

And for the poster who said "film them and ask them to smile" there is a problem with that and you don't know how people are going to react. Discretion is important for clients, sexworkers and anyone else present (there could be men taking the role of security or "pimps") and they may be terrified of being outed (yes this includes the sexworkers themselves for several reasons) and like I said, you just don't know how people are going to react to this. It's a dangerous game to play.

to be honest I wouldn’t care if they were keeping everything inside. How would kids know what’s going on? There’s a brothel near my place of work and customers and workers come in regularly for shopping and they are just normal people. I also know a few people that work from home giving “massages” and they are discreet and there has never been any issues with neighbours etc. Unless there is a problem you should leave them alone. I’d rather these women be indoors and much safer. Would you prefer them to be on the streets in danger?

Special needs kids, especially girls, are often more vulnerable to ending up in these kinds of businesses. It's really concerning this is so close to a school. It normalizes these to kids and even these so called pro-prostitution moms wouldn't be happy about their daughters ending up "working" in a place like that.

Report it as a brothel to the police, if a few prostitutes lose business because of it then good. They can legally sell sex privately if they want but running a brothel is illegal, as is advertising sex for money.

Most of those creepy men will be husbands and fathers

There's a difference between predatory men being everywhere and having a specific gathering point for them next to a special needs school.

Modern slavery. Report it please x

Report it to the police and the council along with the evidence from punters' 'reviews'. Use the fact that this is an illegal brothel as the first point and the issue that it is next to a school as a reason to treat this as an urgent matter. Good luck op. You are absolutely justified in objecting to this.

I would feel the same as you, disgusted.

They’re still plastered all over phone booths in the soho area 😂

Most likely operating without a licence, a licence would not be issued due to school proximity

08000121700 Is the phone number for reporting possible modern slavery. I’d ring them.

I said this on your other thread but I’ll say it again, go to the police and report it.

We have never celebrated it other than when children were small and made a card at infant/primary school.

My children are adults and don't need a set day to drop everything just to 'honour' me, we meet up all throughout the year and gifted flowers etc.

If you're in the UK, a brothel isn't just a 'front for illegal activity', it IS illegal.

Of course it is pretty likely that there will also be other illegal activity associated with the brothel - trafficking, slavery, sexual abuse of minors, illegal drugs, money laundering, pimping... it's just stupid to claim that prostitution is a legitimate business like any other.

Conversely, paying shows that one doesn't think they're entitled to it. That's the difference between a paying customer and a shoplifter.

Men (not all) are so fucking creepy and grim. Why should these places exist at all.

Oh not you again! I wondered if you’d turn up !

Thai massage places are very often both. I've had some excellent massages in Thai spas and simply refused the offer of a happy ending.

Yes - seeing as a fairly high proportion of prostitutes have experienced child sexual abuse ( and throw mental health issues and addictions into the mix) someone who is drawn repeatedly to relationships with men who pay for sex is quite likely to have their own challenges.

I used to live next door to a brothel in my early 20s. I got curb crawled constantly by the owner. There were regular very loud altercations going on. They also got raided by armed police (we had to stay inside our flat while the police went in) which means they probably had weapons on the premises. I didn’t really care at the time but I wouldn’t want my daughter anywhere near it.

I don’t know what your set up is like and it might be a calmer establishment, but criminals don’t generally stick to just one type of criminal activity. Prostitution, sex trafficking, weapons and drugs often go hand in hand.