The North East Sex Work Forum (NESWF) is a multi-agency, not-for-profit regional group.
Through multi agency working, it aims to engage and support people involved in or exploited through the sex industry across the North East (beneficiaries.)
The forum also wants to enable beneficiaries to shape and contribute to service provision. That’s so it can respond to their needs.
NESWF has six core board members (Arch, A Way Out, Changing Lives , HMP Low Newton, University of Durham and University of York.)
They work with this hidden and marginalised community to design and deliver innovative outreach and support services. Partners also conduct nationally recognised research programmes.
In addition, NESWF works with a wider network of partners including the police, local authorities, the probation service and other charities,
The objectives of NESWF include enabling members and partners to share information and intelligence, to facilitate research (including Participatory Action Research with beneficiaries), to deliver training and workshops (including annual regional learning day) and to develop innovative tools for front line staff and to run campaigns.
NESWF has successfully developed an in-reach service at HMP Low Newton. The service supports women on offender pathway 9 – Prostitution – in custody and in community), peer led community support groups, innovative outreach strategies, professional training, new pathways for sexual violence survivors, and contributed to regional/national policy – all informed and shaped by the beneficiaries we support.
In addition NESWF has hosted six learning days with about 150 beneficiaries, front line professionals, academics and local politicians.
Feedback includes ‘better awareness around trauma’; ‘improved understanding into how diverse a group, sex workers are’; ‘improved partnership working and networking’; ‘greater understanding into the lives of sex workers’
The funding will support the recruitment of a full-time worker for the 12-month period.
Decision 2021-00270693 – North East Sex Work Forum (A Way Out) (application, 196kB)