Newham Greens welcome u-turn on sex-work PSPO

Newham Council has cancelled the proposed sex work Public Space Protection Order (PSPO)
Green Party Councillor Nate Higgins: “This u-turn from the council will be a huge relief to sex-workers in Newham. I’ve been calling for the prioritisation of women’s safety since the proposals were published. The PSPO would have put sex-workers at risk. We look forward to supporting the development of the council’s new public health strategy”

Newham Greens have welcomed today’s announcement that the Labour administration in Newham will no longer be going ahead[1] with the proposed sex-work Public Space Protection Order[2], which would have criminalised the purchasing of sex on Romford Road.

Green Party Councillor Nate Higgins, who represents Stratford Olympic Park, said: “This u-turn from the council is a positive step, and will be a huge relief to sex-workers in Newham. I’ve been calling for the prioritisation of women’s safety since the proposals were published. The proposed PSPO would have put sex-workers at risk and would have made it much harder to provide the support needed”

Councillor Higgins added: “By building trust with sex-workers, the council will be in a much better position to help get sex-workers off the street, supporting communities impacted by the negative impacts of on-street sex work.”

In November, Councillor Higgins called[3] for women’s safety to be prioritised instead, saying:

“I support efforts to protect vulnerable people being abused and trafficked in sex work and I have pressed for women’s safety to be prioritised. But that must happen by destigmatising sex work and ensuring those being abused feel confident they can not just report abuse, but take proactive action to protect themselves from that abuse – such as vetting clients or meeting in public well-lit places. Displacing women from places they may and know and feel safe in to other more isolated areas, as previous crackdowns have been shown to do, will not make women safer.”

Higgins finished: “We welcome that the administration has listened to the widespread opposition amongst experts, sex workers themselves, support groups, and from Newham Greens. We look forward to supporting the development of the council’s new public health strategy”.

ENDS

Councillor Nate Higgins uses he/him pronouns.

Notes

The Green Party is the main and only opposition party elected to Newham Council.