Routes Out - The importance of advocating for women's rights
Women who sell or exchange sex often have to navigate stigma and fear of prosecution when accessing their rights. To better understand how services can advocate for women, we spoke to Sally Hendry, Case Manager at Routes Out, a specialist service for women in Glasgow.
Sally has been supporting women selling or exchanging sex for over eighteen years, and is well aware of the apprehensions that women can have when it comes to the criminal justice system. In this interview, she tells us how women can best be supported to access their rights.
To start, could you tell us more about the women you support at Routes Out?
We work with women who are currently or historically have been involved in prostitution and those who are at risk of or thinking of becoming involved. We work with women from all areas of the ‘sex industry’ – women involved through webcamming; selling sex from their own flats or from organised flats; women seeking asylum; women who advertise online and those who are involved in on street prostitution. We work with women who have been given phones from punters who contact them whenever they want sex. And we have worked with women who are involved in dungeons in Glasgow as dominatrices and are looking for support because, although quite often they will say they’re not actually having sex with men, they witness a lot of sexual acts and violence which impacts their mental health.
Most of the women I work with are involved in on the street prostitution. This group of women tend to have addiction issues which affect every aspect of their lives and often keep them involved. There are many reasons for women’s involvement, such as poverty, homelessness, abusive and controlling relationships, poor self-esteem, poor mental health, and childhood traumas which add up to women’s feelings of being worthless and can make them very vulnerable.
What services does Routes Out offer?
We offer practical and emotional support. Most of the women we work with often have multiple practical issues that need addressed before the woman is ready to deal with any emotional stuff. We help women secure accommodation, which allows them to have a safe space to stay while dealing other practical matters, even if it's emergency housing initially. We help women access a GP/dentist, and addiction support if required. We also help them to claim benefits – for some women computer literacy or having no access to a computer can be a barrier when claiming benefits. Finally, although education and employment are not always associated with Routes Out, we have supported several women accessing education/training and others who have gone into employment.
If the woman has any criminal justice issues, we will support her when attending court, and get details of court dates/bail conditions or appointments with Criminal Justice Workers. We also offer support to access counselling if the woman feels she would benefit from this. As a service we know there are benefits in linking the woman into other specialist services and we will offer to attend initial appointments until she feels comfortable attending on her own.
All the support given is person-centred. We are very much aware that we need to work at the woman’s pace as women will disengage and re-engage with the service depending on what is going on in their lives. There is no requirement to stop her involvement in prostitution and Routes Out will support her for however long she needs. The referral process is very simple – the woman can self-refer or be referred by another service (with the woman’s consent).
How common is it for the women you support to experience violence when selling sex?
Women do report violence to us. But because most of the women have become so accustomed to being mistreated, violence is often minimised and spoken about as “oh she just got it a bit rough,” when in reality women are being assaulted and raped. A lot of the men act out things they see on porn, and think that because they’ve paid the woman, they have the right to do what they want to her. If the woman refuses, most often he just does what he wants to her anyway.
Many of the women think violence is part and parcel of what they do, and having to get money comes before reporting the violence – they might owe money to a dealer or must get back to a partner who is expecting them to bring drugs. Women sometimes feed both their partners’ and their own drug habit and face violence from him when she has not made enough money.
At other times women will say “no, I need to get on with what I'm doing.” That can be part of the woman’s coping mechanism too, because if she stops and takes stock of what’s happening to her, she might not be strong enough to go back out on the street. Violence then becomes the norm and something she gets used to. Women also blame themselves: “why did I put myself in this position,” or “I had a gut feeling about him, I should have done what he asked.”
What are some of the things that prevent women from reporting this violence to the police?
Shame – women have said they feel a great sense of shame in admitting their involvement in prostitution, as well as feeling judged. Women also fear being prosecuted by the police because of their involvement and worry about not being believed.
Sometimes moving on to the next punter feels like the only option – “just move on, don’t think about it, take more drugs.” It’s that cycle of not caring for herself and just blanking things out. Also taking the time out to report the assault to police and the whole process can be too much for her.
Women are also naturally apprehensive about going to court – they may feel judged, disbelieved, and testifying in front of people who are usually the ones prosecuting her can be too much. Having to face a jury, lawyers and judges who are predominantly male, being asked to stand up in a court and admit publicly she is involved in prostitution is difficult and women have said they feel humiliated when the prosecutor asks about their history, their drug use and criminal convictions. Women have told us they end up feeling like they are the ones on trial.
When women make the decision to report, in your experience what supports do they need to go through this process?
When a woman reports violence to Routes Out, she will usually ask for the police interview to take place at our drop-in and to have a member of our staff present for support. Women say they feel more comfortable doing this as they view the drop-in as a safe and supportive environment. Before the police arrive, we do what we can to make the woman comfortable. We are aware that this could be a very stressful time for her, so staff is present to make sure she is aware of what’s being asked of her and to explain procedures.
When a woman reports violence to a service, it is essential that she knows she is believed, and that the worker does not attach any blame or judgement on her. Let her know she doesn't deserve to be treated badly, reassure her, and tell her it wasn't her fault. We encourage women to contact the police and report any crimes against them. However, if she has been raped or sexually assaulted and is not ready to speak with the police, we will recommend going to Archway (Glasgow's sexual assault referral centre) to have a forensic medical examination and explain the importance of gathering evidence in case she ever decides to report the crime.
If the woman must attend court as a witness, we will make sure she has any special measures put in place on the day. For example, if she doesn’t want to be seen by the accused, a screen can be placed in the court which allows her to speak without seeing the accused. We've had women who are frightened of the accuser’s family, and would feel intimidated in their presence, so we have arranged through the Witness Support Service for the woman to go into the court through the back door entrance and into a witness room an hour before the court case starts.
It is also really important to support the woman after court. In our case, we invite the woman back to our drop-in or we go to a place of her choice to reflect on her experience, check how she is feeling, go over what happened in court and make sure she understands what has been said and how this has impacted on her.
Many women involved have a dual experience of the Criminal Justice system– as victims of a crime but also they may be prosecuted for selling sex in certain situations or other related activities. How common is it for the women you support to experience criminalisation?
In our experience, there are fewer women being arrested on a Section 46 (loitering or soliciting for the purpose of prostitution) nowadays. In the past women were arrested more frequently; however in Glasgow the police are now more likely to refer the woman to our service for support or ask them to leave the area instead of arresting her. Women have told us that the police are targeting the punters rather than the women. I have had police officers who were concerned for a woman contact me by phone while she was present to try and link her into support.
It’s important to know that women will not be imprisoned for being involved in prostitution, but they can be fined for soliciting and can be given bail conditions to stay out of areas known to be used for prostitution. This can also include a curfew where the woman is asked to stay in her residence between 7pm and 7am, with police checks made to enforce the curfew. Additionally, women will often not pay the fine and end up with a warrant issued for her arrest. If she is arrested on a warrant, she will likely go to prison on remand until she has a court date and later released. But again, in our experience there are fewer arrests now.
What is the impact of criminalisation on women involved in selling or exchanging sex?
When women are being arrested, they become resentful of the police and see them as another predator rather than as an organisation that exists to protect them. Women then may feel they cannot go to the police and report violence against them or dangerous punters.
If a woman is put on remand for non-payment of fines, she is likely to lose her accommodation if she is in a women’s hostel or B&B, she is more than likely to lose all her belongings, possibly her methadone prescription, and lose links with services that she had already established a relationship with. So, in many cases when she is released the first place she might go to is the East End to get involved in prostitution.
And the impact of criminalisation can be devastating for women who have a criminal charge related to prostitution. Women fear being asked what a Section 46 by potential employers or education establishments. They have told us they felt horrified when this happened and as if they were not allowed to move on. Women have also said it retraumatises them and takes them back to the place they have been trying to escape from. Women also worry their history will not remain confidential and staff will gossip and judge them. And if the interviewer is a male, women are frightened that he will try to exploit her at some point during her employment or placement at college.
How do you support women who were remanded and are being released from prison?
If we are aware that a woman is on remand, we will contact the woman in prison to ask if she requires our support. However, quite often the woman will contact us from prison. Once we have a court date, we will contact housing to arrange accommodation for the women to go to on the day of her release. We will also contact addiction services to arrange a prescription for her or an appointment to be seen on the that day. We will make sure she has a food parcel, toiletries and provide basic clothing for the woman to change into.
Once we know where the woman’s accommodation will be in, we will inform addictions of the address so they can have a prescription put in the nearest chemist for the woman. Routes Out staff will support the woman to get to her accommodation. We will also help her to make a Universal Credit claim if required. We know that it is important for the woman to be contactable by services and if the woman does not have a phone, we will provide one. We will support the woman to contact any services she might need to engage with and provide bus tokens for her to attend any appointments.
Having food and shelter is a basic human need and we are aware that if this isn’t put in place when the woman is released, she can be caught up in chaos for some time before she reaches out for support.
How do you think services can best support a woman who has had negative experiences with the criminal justice system?
Listening to the woman is important and giving her space and time to build a good working and trusting relationship with you. Look at what alternatives and options she has. Explain what laws are in place and give any examples of good experiences that other women you have supported have had with the police or criminal justice system (always keeping in mind confidentiality). Don’t disbelieve her – women do have bad experiences with the police and courts so don’t dismiss her feelings. There’s not much you can do to take away a bad experience, but you can help her cope with the feelings around that experience.
Sally has been supporting women selling or exchanging sex for over eighteen years, and is well aware of the apprehensions that women can have when it comes to the criminal justice system. In this interview, she tells us how women can best be supported to access their rights.
To start, could you tell us more about the women you support at Routes Out?
We work with women who are currently or historically have been involved in prostitution and those who are at risk of or thinking of becoming involved. We work with women from all areas of the ‘sex industry’ – women involved through webcamming; selling sex from their own flats or from organised flats; women seeking asylum; women who advertise online and those who are involved in on street prostitution. We work with women who have been given phones from punters who contact them whenever they want sex. And we have worked with women who are involved in dungeons in Glasgow as dominatrices and are looking for support because, although quite often they will say they’re not actually having sex with men, they witness a lot of sexual acts and violence which impacts their mental health.
Most of the women I work with are involved in on the street prostitution. This group of women tend to have addiction issues which affect every aspect of their lives and often keep them involved. There are many reasons for women’s involvement, such as poverty, homelessness, abusive and controlling relationships, poor self-esteem, poor mental health, and childhood traumas which add up to women’s feelings of being worthless and can make them very vulnerable.
What services does Routes Out offer?
We offer practical and emotional support. Most of the women we work with often have multiple practical issues that need addressed before the woman is ready to deal with any emotional stuff. We help women secure accommodation, which allows them to have a safe space to stay while dealing other practical matters, even if it's emergency housing initially. We help women access a GP/dentist, and addiction support if required. We also help them to claim benefits – for some women computer literacy or having no access to a computer can be a barrier when claiming benefits. Finally, although education and employment are not always associated with Routes Out, we have supported several women accessing education/training and others who have gone into employment.
If the woman has any criminal justice issues, we will support her when attending court, and get details of court dates/bail conditions or appointments with Criminal Justice Workers. We also offer support to access counselling if the woman feels she would benefit from this. As a service we know there are benefits in linking the woman into other specialist services and we will offer to attend initial appointments until she feels comfortable attending on her own.
All the support given is person-centred. We are very much aware that we need to work at the woman’s pace as women will disengage and re-engage with the service depending on what is going on in their lives. There is no requirement to stop her involvement in prostitution and Routes Out will support her for however long she needs. The referral process is very simple – the woman can self-refer or be referred by another service (with the woman’s consent).
How common is it for the women you support to experience violence when selling sex?
Women do report violence to us. But because most of the women have become so accustomed to being mistreated, violence is often minimised and spoken about as “oh she just got it a bit rough,” when in reality women are being assaulted and raped. A lot of the men act out things they see on porn, and think that because they’ve paid the woman, they have the right to do what they want to her. If the woman refuses, most often he just does what he wants to her anyway.
Many of the women think violence is part and parcel of what they do, and having to get money comes before reporting the violence – they might owe money to a dealer or must get back to a partner who is expecting them to bring drugs. Women sometimes feed both their partners’ and their own drug habit and face violence from him when she has not made enough money.
At other times women will say “no, I need to get on with what I'm doing.” That can be part of the woman’s coping mechanism too, because if she stops and takes stock of what’s happening to her, she might not be strong enough to go back out on the street. Violence then becomes the norm and something she gets used to. Women also blame themselves: “why did I put myself in this position,” or “I had a gut feeling about him, I should have done what he asked.”
What are some of the things that prevent women from reporting this violence to the police?
Shame – women have said they feel a great sense of shame in admitting their involvement in prostitution, as well as feeling judged. Women also fear being prosecuted by the police because of their involvement and worry about not being believed.
Sometimes moving on to the next punter feels like the only option – “just move on, don’t think about it, take more drugs.” It’s that cycle of not caring for herself and just blanking things out. Also taking the time out to report the assault to police and the whole process can be too much for her.
Women are also naturally apprehensive about going to court – they may feel judged, disbelieved, and testifying in front of people who are usually the ones prosecuting her can be too much. Having to face a jury, lawyers and judges who are predominantly male, being asked to stand up in a court and admit publicly she is involved in prostitution is difficult and women have said they feel humiliated when the prosecutor asks about their history, their drug use and criminal convictions. Women have told us they end up feeling like they are the ones on trial.
When women make the decision to report, in your experience what supports do they need to go through this process?
When a woman reports violence to Routes Out, she will usually ask for the police interview to take place at our drop-in and to have a member of our staff present for support. Women say they feel more comfortable doing this as they view the drop-in as a safe and supportive environment. Before the police arrive, we do what we can to make the woman comfortable. We are aware that this could be a very stressful time for her, so staff is present to make sure she is aware of what’s being asked of her and to explain procedures.
When a woman reports violence to a service, it is essential that she knows she is believed, and that the worker does not attach any blame or judgement on her. Let her know she doesn't deserve to be treated badly, reassure her, and tell her it wasn't her fault. We encourage women to contact the police and report any crimes against them. However, if she has been raped or sexually assaulted and is not ready to speak with the police, we will recommend going to Archway (Glasgow's sexual assault referral centre) to have a forensic medical examination and explain the importance of gathering evidence in case she ever decides to report the crime.
If the woman must attend court as a witness, we will make sure she has any special measures put in place on the day. For example, if she doesn’t want to be seen by the accused, a screen can be placed in the court which allows her to speak without seeing the accused. We've had women who are frightened of the accuser’s family, and would feel intimidated in their presence, so we have arranged through the Witness Support Service for the woman to go into the court through the back door entrance and into a witness room an hour before the court case starts.
It is also really important to support the woman after court. In our case, we invite the woman back to our drop-in or we go to a place of her choice to reflect on her experience, check how she is feeling, go over what happened in court and make sure she understands what has been said and how this has impacted on her.
Many women involved have a dual experience of the Criminal Justice system– as victims of a crime but also they may be prosecuted for selling sex in certain situations or other related activities. How common is it for the women you support to experience criminalisation?
In our experience, there are fewer women being arrested on a Section 46 (loitering or soliciting for the purpose of prostitution) nowadays. In the past women were arrested more frequently; however in Glasgow the police are now more likely to refer the woman to our service for support or ask them to leave the area instead of arresting her. Women have told us that the police are targeting the punters rather than the women. I have had police officers who were concerned for a woman contact me by phone while she was present to try and link her into support.
It’s important to know that women will not be imprisoned for being involved in prostitution, but they can be fined for soliciting and can be given bail conditions to stay out of areas known to be used for prostitution. This can also include a curfew where the woman is asked to stay in her residence between 7pm and 7am, with police checks made to enforce the curfew. Additionally, women will often not pay the fine and end up with a warrant issued for her arrest. If she is arrested on a warrant, she will likely go to prison on remand until she has a court date and later released. But again, in our experience there are fewer arrests now.
What is the impact of criminalisation on women involved in selling or exchanging sex?
When women are being arrested, they become resentful of the police and see them as another predator rather than as an organisation that exists to protect them. Women then may feel they cannot go to the police and report violence against them or dangerous punters.
If a woman is put on remand for non-payment of fines, she is likely to lose her accommodation if she is in a women’s hostel or B&B, she is more than likely to lose all her belongings, possibly her methadone prescription, and lose links with services that she had already established a relationship with. So, in many cases when she is released the first place she might go to is the East End to get involved in prostitution.
And the impact of criminalisation can be devastating for women who have a criminal charge related to prostitution. Women fear being asked what a Section 46 by potential employers or education establishments. They have told us they felt horrified when this happened and as if they were not allowed to move on. Women have also said it retraumatises them and takes them back to the place they have been trying to escape from. Women also worry their history will not remain confidential and staff will gossip and judge them. And if the interviewer is a male, women are frightened that he will try to exploit her at some point during her employment or placement at college.
How do you support women who were remanded and are being released from prison?
If we are aware that a woman is on remand, we will contact the woman in prison to ask if she requires our support. However, quite often the woman will contact us from prison. Once we have a court date, we will contact housing to arrange accommodation for the women to go to on the day of her release. We will also contact addiction services to arrange a prescription for her or an appointment to be seen on the that day. We will make sure she has a food parcel, toiletries and provide basic clothing for the woman to change into.
Once we know where the woman’s accommodation will be in, we will inform addictions of the address so they can have a prescription put in the nearest chemist for the woman. Routes Out staff will support the woman to get to her accommodation. We will also help her to make a Universal Credit claim if required. We know that it is important for the woman to be contactable by services and if the woman does not have a phone, we will provide one. We will support the woman to contact any services she might need to engage with and provide bus tokens for her to attend any appointments.
Having food and shelter is a basic human need and we are aware that if this isn’t put in place when the woman is released, she can be caught up in chaos for some time before she reaches out for support.
How do you think services can best support a woman who has had negative experiences with the criminal justice system?
Listening to the woman is important and giving her space and time to build a good working and trusting relationship with you. Look at what alternatives and options she has. Explain what laws are in place and give any examples of good experiences that other women you have supported have had with the police or criminal justice system (always keeping in mind confidentiality). Don’t disbelieve her – women do have bad experiences with the police and courts so don’t dismiss her feelings. There’s not much you can do to take away a bad experience, but you can help her cope with the feelings around that experience.
