This study set out to assess the range of community responses to street sex work, identifying why and how groups in some areas have sought to ‘reclaim’ the streets by excluding sex workers, while others exhibit greater tolerance.

It sought to identify policies that may reduce tension and conflict in areas of sex work and to explore whether residential streets can become shared spaces where residents and sex workers can coexist.

The research forms part of the wider Joseph Rowntree Foundation ‘Public spaces, shared places?’ programme, which is concerned with developing our understanding of social relations and interactions within public spaces, to help inform policymakers and practitioners about how public spaces function and what this might mean for the design and management of these spaces.

The report draws on a detailed study of street sex work in five cities in England and Scotland carried out between July 2004 and September 2005. The study involved a literature review and fieldwork in the five major urban centres.

The authors conclude that there is considerable scope for improving relations between residents and street sex workers in local neighbourhoods, particularly through mediation and awareness raising as part of an integrated strategy involving a range of partners, including sex work projects; and where multi-agency working favours alternatives to increased enforcement, such as court diversion schemes.

It is important that any strategy concerning street sex work within local neighbourhoods involves wide consultation and considers the potential for encouragement of shared space between different groups, as well as other options such as safety zones.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation
publications@jrf.org.uk

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//2006

University of Staffordshire, North Liverpool Primary Care Trust, Loughborough University, University of Strathclyde: Jane Pitcher, Rosie Campbell, Phil Hubbard, Maggie O’Neill and Jane Scoular

research

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Mediation