University of Leicester
Browse

Sex Workers’ Experiences of Criminal Justice in the UK: Improving responses to sexual violence and harms

journal contribution
posted on 2025-05-14, 12:13 authored by Teela SandersTeela Sanders, jane scoular, barb brents, gillian abel, graham ellison, susie balderston, chris wakefield, harriet Smailes

Whilst there is no attempt here to connect commercial sex with violence intrinsically, types of harms and
violence are often experienced by those working in the sex industry. Yet, sex workers often have negative
perceptions and experiences of the criminal justice systems that should exist to help protect and deliver justice
to all victims/survivors. The following analyses come from a mixed-methods, cross-national study exploring
sexual violations and harms in direct sex work. This paper focuses specifically on UK sex workers’ experiences
of justice from deciding whether or not to report to the police, criminal investigations, and court hearings.
Findings highlight the specific barriers faced by sex workers in their pursuit of justice via the judiciary system.
Some positive experiences and outcomes through criminal proceedings are also reported and provide
opportunities to learn from best practice.

History

Author affiliation

College of Social Sci Arts and Humanities

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Published in

Criminology and Criminal Justice

Publisher

SAGE Publications

issn

1748-8958

eissn

1748-8966

Copyright date

2025

Publisher DOI

Notes

Embargo until publication

Language

en

Deposited by

Professor Teela Sanders

Deposit date

2025-05-02

Usage metrics

    University of Leicester Publications

    Licence

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC