For the last 24 years The Spires Centre have not only been supporting those struggling with homelessness in Lambeth but have also ran a specialised outreach service called Spires Streetlink (this is often confused with StreetLink, an entirely separate service used to alert local support services as to where someone is rough sleeping). The service delivered by Spires is designed for women or men who feel as if they have no other option but to perform sex work on the streets of Lambeth.
Street-based sex work is a very dangerous activity to engage in due to the high rates of both physical and sexual violence, drug and alcohol addiction and mental health issues which can come with it. For most women the decision to engage in sex work is rarely down to free choice, but out of a necessity to survive.
Spires Streetlink have been providing a consistent service to those most at risk on the streets for last 24 years, even continuing throughout the pandemic. For 4 times a week (one early morning 5 to 8am, and three times from 9.30pm – 1.30am) staff and volunteers go out in a car to make contact with vulnerable women, giving them vital information about services they might want to access and care packages including toiletries, condoms, wet wipes, food and warm clothes (including scarves, jackets and gloves).
Our Acting Director at Emmaus SLC, Ross Watkins, previously worked as a Street Outreach Worker and would go on regular shifts with Spires to provide solidarity to sex workers. These shifts were highly emotional as he would witness first-hand the trauma many of these women would be forced to endure, only to then watch them walk away afterwards. To them it was just their daily life.
Ross recently went on an early morning shift with Spires Streetlink. He saw that there is still a demand for the support of Streetlink, now more so than ever. Speaking on this more, Ross said:
“In two hours, we saw seven women who stopped by to see a friendly face and help. What I found most depressing was that many were the same women I used to speak to over 10 years ago. Exiting sex work takes a long time, a lot of effort, and support being there when they need it. Spires is one of the few services that allows women to access support in an environment that is friendly, non-judgemental, and (most importantly) at their own pace.”
We spoke with Pamela from The Spires Centre to learn more about Spires Streetlink and their efforts towards supporting women involved in sex work.
What is the purpose of Spires Streetlink?
“Spires was set up in 1999. It was set up to address a lot of issues around young women who were involved in sex work. We used the word ‘involved’ to avoid the stigma, women do not have to be defined by their past sex work. They were just involved at one point, but have since recovered”.
What does Spire Streetlink do which makes it different to other local services available?
“A lot of services in South London were working to help women recover but were not looking into the core issue, and why they had no choice but to be involved in sex work. “
What can you tell us about women involved in sex work?
“A lot of the women came from great educational backgrounds however things in their personal lives had gone wrong. Some were victims of sexual abuse, grooming or domestic violence. For some involving themselves in sex work was an escape. Few had an easy life. We found that the group of women who our Outreach Workers would meet were different from those who willingly chose to do sex work. They were surviving.”
How do you connect with women involved in sex work?
“We hit the streets and meet the women directly. By doing that we eliminated the conversation of ‘are you sex working or not?’. We introduced ourselves and gave them a list of local services available. By the time we got back to Spires the subject of their previous sex work was not an issue anymore.
What is a huge benefit of your services?
“These services are important as they allow women to support other women. Many women involved in sex work have a distrust for men based on past experiences so they have more trust in other women to actually care. The feeling is more secure”.
Do these women have certain support needs?
“They have specific help needs. They may have no benefits, nowhere to live, somebody might be forcing them to work and are sharing their drugs with them. We became advocates for women. We were the ones in the front and received consent from the women to speak on their behalf. They did not need to tell their story. We were telling their story for them”.
How do these support needs complicate things such as acquiring accommodation?
“When these women would request benefits, they would be told they need to be actively seeking work, but they couldn’t go back to sex work. Nobody was asking about their health or personal situation. They had high support needs but each department had their own requirements (such as essential paperwork) to get accommodation. We realised that in order to help women we would need to acquire important documents to help get them into accommodation and benefits. These women needed to be in a safe space to call their own. They needed a space where they could be themselves and not worry for their wellbeing, or feel as if they have to perform services to anyone.”
What else does Spires Streetlink do to support women involved in sex work?
“We have also collaborated with other services in Lambeth. We worked with the police, drug treatment agencies etc. We let them know they needed to adjust their services to consider these vulnerable women. Thanks to these efforts women involved in sex work are not arrested, they are referred to us. They recognise these women and that they need help”.
What issues do your Outreach workers run into when trying to provide support?
“Outreach workers found it difficult to locate and assist women involved in sex work. Unlike most people rough sleeping they do not stay in the same place for long”.
What are the dangers women face when doing sex work? How do you encourage women to stay safe?
“When women began using their smartphones for sex work in recent years, they would agree to meet with clients in specific locations, resulting in them being on the street less. This changed the trend of the women involved in sex work. We told the women that in order to ensure their safety we need to know where they are or that they stay in their accommodation.
We encourage women involved in sex work to always remain visible. If anything was to happen members of the public will be there to help. As much as some members of the public want to ignore the presence of sex workers, they do show concern over their wellbeing and will help if they can. They will call the police if they see a woman attacked. Visibility is key to their safety. If they were to go missing the police would need to know their last known location.
We encouraged women involved in sex work to try and stay with the same few clients so they are familiar with them. “
Do these women have other situations going on which cause further complications for them?
“Many of these women will have a partner who encourages their involvement in sex work. Many of these women live in crack houses and with drug dealers who take charge of the their bank accounts and claim they ‘owe’ them”.
Spires commits so much of their time and effort to assist women involved in sex work. The positive impact they have made over the past twenty years has been undeniable. Thanks to them many local services are not more equipped to deal with vulnerable women, and support for them has generally improved.
If you ever see a woman, involved in sex work or not, who looks as if they need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Spires Streetlink. Their services are deigned to provide the support they need.
Please visit The Spires Centre’s website for more information.
Below is a video following Spires Streetlink on one of their shifts.