By Gemma Kelly, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at CEASE
This was the first time CEASE had been involved in running an event at a party conference. And what better way to start than with the launch of a brand new campaign!
CEASE and UK Feminista have come together to create the Not For Sale campaign. This campaign, supported by survivors of prostitution, frontline services and advocacy organisations, calls for progressive legislative change on prostitution across England and Wales.
Launching a campaign at the Labour Party Conference, the first where the Labour party has been in government in 14 years, was a daunting task. There were sleepless nights, last minute changes, and a constant mix of excitement and anxiety in the lead up.
But the most unexpected part was the feeling in the room, the thing that can’t be anticipated. You could hear a pin drop, as Mia de Faoite spoke about her experience in prostitution in Ireland, followed by her commitment to ensuring that her country and government would no longer stand idly by while women are bought and sold.
It was standing room only as Mia told us about Oxama Rantsev who was only 20 years old when she left Russia for Cyprus not knowing what she was about to endure at the hands of traffickers. Then 15 days later she fell to her death off a balcony under extremely suspicious circumstances.
Sadness and reverence soon turned to anger and disbelief when Kat Banyard from UK Feminista told us how the Home Office, instead of holding to account those who profit from prostitution, has met with one of the biggest pimping sites in the UK no less than 20 times.
There was a welcome commitment from Safeguarding Minister, Jess Phillips, that adult sexual exploitation will finally be treated as violence against women and girls (VAWG). Nevertheless, the question that seemed to hang in the room was – but what does this mean? What in reality does a Labour government mean for the women and girls who are advertised daily on pimping websites to sex buyers, who view them as nothing but objects whose sole purpose is to meet their sexual desires regardless of how violent or depraved?
What does Labour’s promise of halving the amount of violence against women and girls mean when our laws protect the pimps and sex buyers but criminalise the women who are exploited?
The answer to that remains to be seen. But my hope is that we won’t need to run the same event at party conference next year.
Learn more about the Not For Sale campaign.