Sex workers based in Nottingham, and those that have previously worked in the sex industry, are being encouraged to trial a new tool designed to improve their safety.
Following a series of design workshops with sex workers that helped develop and construct the tool, researchers are now ready to test the tool with those working in the industry.
Dr Larissa Sandy, from the School of Sociology at the University of Nottingham, and Sam Richardson-Martin, from local charity POW Nottingham, hope to develop the tool to improve the reporting of sexual and violent crime across the city.
It is hoped the reporting tool will improve sex workers' access to justice and it will anonymously feed in to key agencies to keep sex workers safe. However, if a sex worker decides they want to report to the police, then the tool can assist in the investigation and prevent re-traumatisation.
Estimates suggest street-based sex workers are twelve times more likely to die from workplace violence than other women1. Discriminatory relationships between sex workers and the police have resulted in inconsistent experiences accessing justice and very low reporting rates.
In the UK, sex work is legal but many surrounding activities like workers working together, advertising services and anything a worker needs to do to contact a client are illegal2. This means that most workers don't want to report violent crimes to the police because they fear being arrested or facing stigma and discrimination.
The initial design workshops for the creation of the tool were oversubscribed by sex workers wanting to take part, and the researchers behind the study are hoping to see the same level of success.
Those taking part will participate in scenario-development workshops and scenario-based interviews where the tool will be tested with the police liaison officer based at POW Nottingham.
The tool will also pilot novel methods for evaluating the tool, including new interviewing techniques and using 'talk-aloud' cognitive interviewing to test question design and memory recall, and build knowledge in this area.
Dr Larissa Sandy, Assistant Professor in Criminology at the University of Nottingham, said: "The tool design workshops were a huge success - we had to increase the number of workshops to meet demand – and sex workers' insights were incredibly valuable in making sure the tool is something that works for them.
Now we've drafted the tool, it is just as important we test it with Nottingham's sex workers and empower workers to seek justice."
Sam Richardson-Martin, Specialist Women's Navigator at POW Nottingham, said: "The development of the tool has been a hot topic within POW and is something that both staff and the sex workers we support are excited to see come to fruition. Having an effective tool like this in place will greatly increase sex workers agency around their experiences of physical and sexual violence."
