I am running/ cycling / walking 100 miles in October to raise money for National Ugly Mugs, a charity which fights to end violence against sex workers. 

Recently I listened to Sara Pascoe's podcast 'Sex, Power, Money' and learned the need to decriminalise sex work in the UK. Decriminalisation means sex workers will have more rights, safer working conditions, improved access to health and justice services and .safety from violence. 

National Ugly Mugs is a service which alerts sex workers to dangerous individuals and supports sex workers in reporting violent incidents to the police. This is so important as sex workers are often reluctant to report to police due to discrimination, police abuse and fear of prosecution. 

"In a society where men own most of the power and resources, sex work is a tool of survival, or the best among limited options, for those who experience gender oppression. This is particularly the case for women who experience multiple marginalisations, such as women of colour, trans women, working class women, disabled women, or women who are single mothers. We believe that if you want fewer women to do sex work, you have to focus on expanding women’s options, not criminalising them for doing what they have to do to survive" - SWARM Collective 

My goal is to raise awareness and get people talking about sex worker rights and decriminalisation. Lets end the discrimination and stigma and talk about it! 

Thank you for reading! 

Read more:

https://www.swarmcollective.org/what-we-stand-for

https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/publications/ten-reasons-decriminalize-sex-work

https://uknswp.org/um/about/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/prostitution-laws-what-are-the-nordic-and-new-zealand-models-1.1603213

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/YouthLabZA/photos