What is Sexual Exploitation?

The World Health Organisation defines Sexual Exploitation as:

Actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.

Acts of sexual exploitation and abuse include:

• Sexual assault
• Demanding sex in any context or making sex a condition for assistance
• Forcing sex or someone to have sex with anyone
• Forcing a person to engage in prostitution or pornography
• Unwanted touching of a sexual nature
• Refusing to use safe sex practices

Women in the sex industry are at greater risks of violent crime, including rape, sexual assault, and physical assault as well has being subject to crimes such as stalking, harassment and sextortion. 

A 2015 Leeds University study found 47% of 240 sex workers had been victims of crime, including rape and robbery, whilst 36% had received threatening texts, calls or emails. 

According to national charity Beyond the Streets (2017) ‘50% of women in the sex industry have been raped and/or sexually assaulted, and at least three quarters have been physically assaulted’.

The mortality rate for a woman in the sex industry is 12 times higher than the national average.

An estimated 152 sex workers were murdered in the UK between 1990 and 2015. 49% of sex workers said that they were worried about their safety. (House of Commons Home Affairs Committee on Prostitution 2016–17)

At Yada we understand the barriers that women in the sex industry can face in reporting to police and work to bridge the gap.

We sit on the monthly Sussex Police partnership meeting providing us with direct access to senior safeguarding officers and an opportunity to support and influence police best practice.

The pillars of the Sussex Police ‘Sex Work and Prostitution’ Plan are:

• Building Understanding
• Working towards Operational Consistency
• Reducing Vulnerability and Improving Safety
• Targeting those who Exploit
• Influencing Policy

"We believe YADA’s work can help make a difference in supporting a community that has been difficult to reach for many years. Ultimately we would like to understand where vulnerability exists so we can work together to build trust and confidence that enables us to keep people safe by making sure everyone can access our services.”
DCI Jon Hull, Sussex Police Lead for Human Trafficking

We offer support to women with reporting instances of crime.

Contact Yada

Call the Yada team at our Worthing office: 07902 726432  or email: info@yadauk.org