hoodathunkit - I would take anything that the ECP says with a pinch of salt. They are part of what was Wages for Housework and is now Global Women's Strike. ie they are part of the queer alliance undermining women's rights.
ECP "sex workers union" activists are as has been said cover for pimps.
The ECP and the Crossroad's Women's Centre / Global Women's Strike are an organisation about which I have many serious concerns.
They have always struck me as incredibly dodgy for various reasons. Recently they became very involved in protesting outside the family courts as part of proests claiming that the British state is involved in kidnapping children from innocent parents. They have protested alongside some notorious grifters including the fake police whistleblower Jon Wedger.
The point I was making is that if feminists do not consult with women who sell sex before protesting in ways that stop them from earning money it makes it easier for groups like the ECP to recruit those same vulnerable women.
But agree that not consulting with women in an area where you want to protest is wrong, and that is why after the first RtN they no longer went through Soho (chosen as a route to confront men). So in fact part of the power of the London RtN to confront men has been undermined by putting the feelings of other women first.
The skirmishes happend in Soho and I am pleased to hear that RtN changed their protest route.
And yes there are organisations here in the UK and elsewhere who work with women on the streets, but there aim is to empower and enable women to leave sexual exploitation, not to support the a system that makes women available to men.
My inclination would be to help the women do what is right for them. In my experience women who are offered support from "rescuing" services often decline help.
I believe that prostitution is a harmful way of life, however women are more likely to leave prostitution of they feel their agency and choices are respected.
The initiative that caused the most women to exit the most dangerous type of prostitution, selling sex on the street, was the "British System" of diamorphine prescribing, administered by health professionals, on site at accessible locations in Merseyside, by Dr John Marks.
Under the British System there was a significant reduction in acquisitive crime (93%) and many people who had engaged in criminal careers that were harmful to themselves and others started to lead normal lives.
Most of not all of the people selling sex in the most degrading and dangerous situations are struggling with substance addiction, usually heroin.
Without the need to sell sex or commit acquisitive crime or deal drugs to support thier habit, all the long term, chaotic drug users I met (and I met several who I had long conversations with) decided that they wanted to change their lives, stop taking drugs and lead productive lives.
I suspect that the same is true of people involved in the most risky and dangerous types of sex work. Offers of rescuing tend to be rejected, whereas curiosity and genuine concern and support will likely be more productive.
Further reading, just an example, there is a lot to find online
www.linkedin.com/pulse/british-system-has-been-revived-again-glasgow-heroin-users-newcombe