Building bridges with women in the sex industry
The Equally Safe strategy defines selling and exchanging sex, sexual entertainment, pornography, online galleries and human trafficking as forms of Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) which is a form of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
In this event, we will have a short input from Police Scotland’s ‘E’ division on their approach to CSE in Edinburgh. The majority of the session will be delivered by CSE Aware: a platform for staff across Scotland to increase their knowledge and skills around the needs of women who sell or exchange sex. Its vision in Scotland is where services and staff are confident and skilled in supporting women who sell or exchange sex.
Join us on Wednesday 3 December, 10am to 11.30am to explore disclosures of selling sex and to provide practical guidance for those supporting women involved in the sex trade.
Women involved in selling or exchanging sex often access mainstream services without disclosing their involvement for fear of the consequences or because staff simply don’t ask. Feelings of shame and fear of judgment often prevent women from disclosing their involvement in selling sex. These concerns directly affect women, while frontline staff may avoid raising the topic to prevent evoking these feelings. This means women may not always receive all the support they need, while services may only get a partial picture of what women are going through.
CSE Aware will share some of the barriers that prevent women from disclosing, as well as the challenges workers face when responding to women’s disclosures. There will be a screening of building bridges, a short animation designed to increase staff’s awareness and confidence in responding to disclosures of selling sex.
CSE Aware will discuss the importance of proactive practice by frontline services. They will address key points to help services feel more confident and skilled in recognising women’s potential involvement in selling sex and discussing it with them.
This session will be of interest to all professionals working across agencies, sectors and specialisms. This event is for professionals only. If you,
- work for the City of Edinburgh Council, please register on My Learning Hub
- do not work for the City of Edinburgh Council, please sign up using our building bridges form.
