You need to read this article about the Leeds red light district.

[DJLippy]

I read this blog about the Leeds red light district from someone who lives there. It's so illuminating. This needs a wider audience - please share on social media. This is what decriminalisation looks like.

littlegirlblue.blog/2018/05/25/living-in-the-red-light-district/

@Celinedayjardnz - the Leeds Live piece is good. God those poor residents. That Mum, and the biz owner. But more importantly IMHO is those poor poor women treated like shit by punters and the fucking police and council do fuck all. Outrageous. Patriarchy. Misogyny. That fucking council leader and police chief needs to be dragged through the media/hot coals/hell. Shameful. Fucking shameful.

@LassWiADelicateAir - bloody right...who should she send it to I wonder?? I might have a look at some contacts, i have access to a media contacts database through my job...The Guardian would also be a good outlet for this...

namechanger as far as I know there isn't a go-fund-me. I was just saying that if someone wanted to start one, as a former Leeds resident (in a bit that was, as NewBalls says upthread, rough as fuck, but still far from being the roughest bit), I'd contribute.

Leeds has always been an odd city. My dad lived there for a while as a kid in the 40s, that's how far back my family's association with the city goes. And as he says, it's always had this odd mix of incredibly prosperous areas and absolutely dirt poor areas, some of the poorest in the country. It must have one of the highest levels of inequality between rich and poor anywhere in the UK.

Thank you so much for your blog post Celine - and YY to Lass's suggestion that it really deserves to be reprinted in one of the national newspapers (also agree that the Times is a more likely destination than the Guardian, which has been taken over by lefty dude bros who hate women - actually, surprisingly the Telegraph might also be interested in carrying it, they've done some good reporting on this sort of stuff in the past, and rather against what one might expect, carry more feminist articles than the Guardian these days).

@Celinedayjardnz
Thank you for writing this. As a homeless single parent I was offered a choice between 2 houses, both on bad estates and within red light districts. It was exactly as you describe, from not being able to find work (people put the phone down, or you can hear their voice go dead when you give your address) to constant harassment from men, and service staff treating you like scum .

It got so bad that houses didn't sell, and over 40% of the houses were empty. Then within 2 years, the area was bought up and gentrified. Most of the houses were ex council or HA. Someone has done very well out of them.

@FermatsTheorem - my name has changed?!? I'm namechanger. Sorry for confusion!!!

I'm really surprised to hear your view on Times v Guardian. I think the G covers a lot of content that no other national paper will bother with - particularly social issues. That's why I suggested the G. Also, I have huge cynicism re. the Times having corrupt links to the establishment; Councils, police etc. I may be being a bit paranoid but..!!!

Anyway, @Celinedayjardnz - try emailing [email protected]

He is the editor. I know some will say that's not the best way in but frankly, I would try the fucking main man first. And if no response, Work your way down the food chain a bit.

Keep us posted.

Didn't want to read and run. I don't know Holbeck well, but this sounds awful. I'm lucky to live on the outskirts of Leeds. However, I used to work central Leeds and can remember the red light area being around Malmaison area and it was heartbreaking how young some of the girls were. At the time I was in my early twenties and didn't know how to help. Not sure how I can help now, if anyone has any charity links please post.

Cross-posted with you, mummyyessy - I was replying to Lass's suggestion about the Times, not your suggestion about the Guardian. In my experience over the last few years, the Guardian has spent so much time covering sex-positive [anti-]feminism, trying to pretend the Cologne attacks didn't happen, and pushing the trans agenda while deleting any and all gender critical comments that they've completely lost the plot when it comes to feminism. They have one or two brave writers (Hadders for instance) still fighting the good fight. But on the whole they're about as feminist as the Everyday Feminism Meninism site. The Telegraph has a strange mix of stuff. Quite a lot of "I'm alright jack" neo-liberal writing about women's rights, but also some quite surprising voices - Joan Smith writes for them semi-regularly. The Times of course has the totally wonderful Janice Turner.

I guess the TL:DR version of that is - if it was a social issue concerning young working class men, the Guardian would probably pick it up. But because it's a social issue affecting women, and doesn't accord with their sex-pozzie vibe, they won't touch it.

What's TL:DR??

I'm really re others' views of the G. I had really not picked that up at all. At all!!!

Sorry, internet slang for "too long, didn't read."

@Celinedayjardnz Thanks for your blog post and sorry that you have to live with this.

Thanks DJLippy It’s such an eye opener as to the reality of what a lot of groups are now trying to justify and sanitise as just another job. It’s not empowered middle class women who love sex doing it as a chosen career, like the prostitution lobby try to make out, it’s the most vulnerable women in society bearing the brunt of it.

Reading that Leeds website article, it seemed to imply that the council and police chose the ‘managed route’ because they couldn’t figure out how to get rid of the prostitution in the area. So they basically found a way to dress up the fact that they couldn’t be bothered to try to solve the problem and just rebranded it so that it appears organised and above board now.

The fact is other areas have solved this problem. Kings Cross in London and especially the Caledonian Road area was filled with pimps and johns and prostitutes and over about ten years (in time for the Olympics) the council, police and I imagine central government managed to make the area safe and removed prostitution

Thank you so much for posting this article - I moved to Leeds after uni and unknowingly moved to Holbeck just as the "unmanaged zone" was starting. The worst I've experienced was being kerb crawled and yet I've never felt so unsafe, so abandoned by the society I'd been raised to believe should protect us. Now I see clearly how expendable we are.

Once upon a time working class men opposed prostitution because they were clearheaded enough to see that it was the abuse of working class women by middle class men. Now Labour are happy to facilitate a group of rapeable women for the use of men - they have betrayed all women and working class women the most.

@LassWiADelicateAir - bloody right...who should she send it to

Janice Turner or Hadley Freeman at The Guardian.

@Celinedayjardnz the email format for The Guardian journalists is;

[email protected]

Good luck

Please keep us posted.

sodthegreenfly well if the punter has sex with her, pulls a knife, beats her up ,then osteals her money then what would you call that? in my book that is rape,assault and robbery.

May sound odd but try the Church of England. Some work I did was taken up by them and used as part of their lobbying effort for social justice.

@Prawnofthepatriarchy - interesting suggestion. What (approx if you'd rather not give details) was the area of your work that they were interested in?

Do you think they genuinely cared or were using it for their own PR?!

It was a series of interviews and observations about inner city deprivation, won't specify which city, and it was definitely used sincerely. It became part of a collection of resources they put together and used to pressure the government. Archbishops still have some clout. It was journalism rather than an academic paper, and nothing to do with religion.

I'm really surprised to hear your view on Times v Guardian. I think the G covers a lot of content that no other national paper will bother with - particularly social issues

Other than Hadley Freeman I wouldn't recomend The Guardian.

I think it is abhorrent that society has 'given up' on these women, because that is precisely the message that is sent out when you legalise prostitution.

It's not legalised though is it - if sex wasn't involved, then the working conditions would be illegal - where are the risk assessments, the public liability insurance, the employers pension scheme? Where is the H&S around handling body fluids?

It's not legal. Yet again, it's sacrificing women to men.

I read this last night and was horrified. Sounds awful. I wonder if there's anyone here who lives in Holbeck? I can't believe the Police and local Council are just allowing this to happen.

Thank you for sharing this- I had no idea just how bad the situation in Leeds was. I lived in a red light district when i was a student and it was horrible- I was kerb crawled, harassed by men on the street and followed home at night. The women on the street were all, as @Celinedayjardnz describes, thin, tired, mentally ill and addicted to drugs. I remember the woman who worked the corner where I lived and I was always so worried for her when I saw men pick her up. So I’ve always hated the idea of a legal red light district but I had no idea that Leeds’ idea of “managing” it is essentially to abandon the people there to criminals. There needs to be some media exposure to this. I’m horrified at Hillary Benn for allowing the rape of working class women. What the fuck are he Labour Party for these days? Useless sacks of shit.

@DisturblinglyOrangeScrambleEgg - it is described as legalised. That is what I was referring to.

I agree with all your other points. It's absolutely outrageous and I think in a few years it will be seen as one of Yorkshire's most shameful moments.

How the leader of that council / police force can sleep at night I know not.

Seems like there were (at least?) 2 people standing for local councils on this one issue but neither got in? How could people not vote for them?

@Prawnofthepatriarchy I think the Joanna Project in Leeds is the only sex work outreach project (not just sex work, also ex-offenders, women with addiction problems) which promotes exit options. A friend of mine used to volunteer with them before she moved from the area.

They are a Christian organisation, but as an atheist, and someone who works with the voluntary and charitable sector, I have found that religious groups are picking up a lot of slack left by government cuts, e.g. foodbanks, homelessness, and also campaigning e.g. against human trafficking and modern slavery. They have the volunteer capacity and the fundraising experience, and only in a minority of cases is it being done as overtly evangelical work.

The official organisation doing sex work outreach in Leeds is Basis but they are very pro-sex work in their outlook and support for exiting is only a very small part of their work and not officially promoted. I expect Basis is the organisation getting the lions share of funding for outreach work.

I woke up this morning to find so many messages and I’m so relieved to finally speak to people who GET IT. But as to how to find support, I don’t have any faith in any of the media. They are so outright anti women in 2018. It isn’t just that they don’t care: they are outright anti women. Who has stood up for us? The only outlets who have carried anything on this were ironically the Sun and the Daily Mail. This, from the Independent on Friday, expressly names feminists as far right and responsible for “anti trans bullying”. It is a downright lie, but they’re writing it up anyway. In such an atmosphere, I really can’t see any of them giving a shit about us. They HATE us. www.indy100.com/article/how-the-far-right-is-attacking-the-lives-of-the-transgender-community-and-what-we-can-do-to-stop-it-8369021?amp&__twitter_impression=true