photo essay about Soho sex workers

Someone sent me a link to the work of a photographer, Sasha Achilli. It is called Working Girls Central London. I think it is a very fair representation of what it is like for sex workers in Soho. Unlike the work of a different photographer that I came across years ago that said things which aren't true.

In the photo essay it says that one sex worker saved enough money to buy a tapas bar in Spain, where she is now.

The photo essay also says that one sex worker in Soho is in her sixties. She is now a 'Madame' but on certain days has sex with 'loyal clients'. Some people use the word 'madam' which is the female equivalent of 'pimp'. Sasha Achilli uses the word 'Madame'. There are no pimps in Soho though, so I always use the word 'maid'. This is the word that was always used when I visited the Soho walk up flats.

The photo essay also says that many sex workers do not enjoy their job. Some do though. Most knew when they came to the UK that they would be sex workers. That suggests that some were deceived, but it could also mean that they tried different jobs in the UK. Only then did they decide to try sex work. Some have tried a 'normal job' but most haven't.

It gives the impression that they don't get many customers. Sometimes they wait hours. Television, the internet and the phone occupy their time. They can spend over 12 hours a day in the flat, but we know from other forms of work that migrants often choose to earn as much as possible in as little time as possible so they can return to their home countries earlier.

There will be some Soho sex workers who will be much busier than that. Some will have 20 customers each day, maybe more.

I have only seen costumes hanging in the window, as in one of the photographs, at 70A Berwick Street. I wonder if 'Petra' is Lisa. The only other Czech one I met was Laura/Katy at 1 Bateman Street and 70A Berwick Street. Laura made a couple of porn movies.

sex workers speak out against raids

If you want to know more about what happened during the raids last month sex workers have spoken about their experiences. Sex workers were dragged out onto the streets in their underwear in the full glare of a hostile media. Despite their protestations of not being trafficked some of them were shipped off to 'rescue centres'. Some of them had their earnings taken away from them, their homes were searched even if their children were there, and they were persuaded to accept cautions which are an admission of guilt.

The West End Extra newspaper has had a number of articles about the raids. There was a debate in St Anne's Church recently where sex workers, residents and business owners could speak their minds. The raids were initially said to be to do with stolen goods but little evidence was found of that. Instead police were trying to find evidence of sex workers being controlled by a third party.

"Following the raids, police sought to close down 20 brothels, but they have been criticised for failing to provide evidence that the premises were linked to the handling of stolen goods. 

Instead a district judge issued “brothel closure orders” after police claimed to have found evidence that women in the flats were controlled by an unknown third party, which contravenes prostitution laws."

The issues that the police have used to try to justify these raids are property stolen from tourists, shoplifted items and drugs. They found little evidence of any of these problems during the raids. There also seems to be an issue with the people who the sex workers pay their rent to. Although Soho Estates own the freehold of many of the flats there is a 'black economy of anonymous landlords'.

Rupert Everett has written an article for the Guardian newspaper where he reports what sex workers have said in court and he confirms that police were trying to find evidence of the mysterious 'third party'.

police raided walk ups on Wednesday

The police have raided a number of places in Soho on Wednesday night, some of them walk ups (called 'brothels' in newspaper reports). A number of the walk ups have been closed, I don't know if this is permanently. This article said "After the raids last night a dozen women, mostly from eastern Europe, working in squalid rooms, were taken to safe locations where they will be questioned. Police believe that some were trafficked into the country and forced into prostitution".

I don't believe that the women were trafficked or coerced, and I don't believe that the police believe that. They're not trying to help these women at all. As for 'squalid rooms', someone photographed one of the rooms recently, at the request of the people working there, and I wouldn't describe it as squalid. You can see the photos below, they are typical of the bedrooms of Soho walk ups. The flat is 2 Greens Court, upper flat. I don't know if this is one of the ones that has been closed, I'm going to have a look around tomorrow.

it looks as if they have DVDs here



certainly they have lots of uniforms here
I don't know what that is next to the fire extinguisher

protest as 26 Romilly Street is closed

A protest was organized yesterday against the closure of one of the walk ups in Soho, 26 Romilly Street. There is a Guardian newspaper article about it and a post on the Time Out London blog. There is also a video on the Guardian story where you can hear a sex worker and a maid talking about how they feel about the attitude of the police.

One of the maids at the walk up stated "The police have completely changed, they've dragged customers naked out of bed, searched the flat – the girls are scared, they are not criminals. As far as I have understood one girl and one maid is not illegal, it's not a brothel."

The police were putting pressure on the property owner Soho Estates to evict the sex workers. Sex workers in Peter Street near Walker's Court have been told they will be evicted in January. The police closed 61 Dean Street, and more recently all 3 walk ups in Lisle Street, and failed. However, putting pressure on the property owner to evict sex workers might well succeed where other methods have failed in the past.

When sex worker Lizzie Valad was evicted from her flat she started working at King's Cross and ended up being murdered by Camden Ripper Anthony Hardy. The walk ups in Soho are safe places for women to work. Sex workers will be at greater risk of violence if they are evicted.

protest in Soho yesterday outside the offices of Soho Estates

guide to types of women in Soho walk ups

1. The Enthusiastic Amateur
If you go with this girl you will either have the best experience ever, or the worst. If she likes you, you may get the best service. If you are young, attractive and outgoing, and willing to spend more than the minimum amount, there's little that she won't do for you. You might get oral sex without a condom. If she doesn't like you, then she might not bother with you hardly at all. She might give a bad service, and have an attitude 'What are you going to do about it?'. She can be immature like a petulant teenager. She can also be a bit mad.

• examples of this type in Soho today: Anna, Angela
• examples of this type in the past: Jazmin (aka Kim)

2. The Time-server
This girl saves up her money to buy her house back home, and is willing to give a good service, but will only do the minimum for the money given. Anything different you might want to do costs extra. If you touch her on the bum she won't like it, especially if you haven't paid yet. She probably spends her hours fantasizing about her dream home back in Eastern Europe. She's usually quite passive, not at all raunchy. She can be sweet and innocent.

• examples of this type in Soho today: Rebecca
• examples of this type in the past: Nelly

3. The Totally-committed
This type knows that there's not much point in being there unless she maximizes her earning potential. She will go out of her way to please every customer. She will smile at him, she will flirt with him, and perform a range of activities sometimes at no extra cost. She wants those return customers, she wants those reviews and reports that will enhance her reputation.

She can take one look at a man and determine what type he is and what it is that he needs. To some men she will be foul-mouthed, to others she will be well spoken. She can give a Porn Star Experience (PSE) or a Girlfriend Experience (GFE) and usually you won't have to tell her what it is that you want.

Even towards the end of a 12 hour shift she is bright and perky. She is always professional, like a businesswoman. She might even have a business on the side or own property. Sometimes you don't know what she is thinking. She says she remembers you from last time, but does she really? She says she likes you, but does she really? She can seem a bit robotic sometimes.

• examples of this type in Soho today: Meena, Alena
• examples of this type in the past: Natalie

4. The Pleasure-seeker
This one enjoys her work. Not necessarily because she is a nymphomaniac. It could be she likes flattery or the buzz of meeting lots of people every day. She likes to talk about sex and she might like you to pleasure her. She is the most reliably raunchy type, although types 1, 3 and 6 can be raunchy too, but unlike type 1 she's professional enough and emotionally mature enough to give a good time to any man who comes through the door.

• examples of this type in Soho today: Eva, Angie, Yaya
• examples of this type in the past: Paris

5. The Girl Next Door
She's not really happy being there. She'll go through the motions, although if she's in a bad mood she can be no fun. She likes to make people happy, and tries to do so, but can't always succeed. She might try doing something else for a while, but often she comes back to it because she doesn't have the determination to succeed at anything else.

• examples of this type in Soho today: Sandy
• examples of this type in the past: Andra

6. The Real Woman
This type likes to make people happy. She doesn't just lie back and expect you to get on with it. She encourages you with smiles, maybe opening her legs wide and moving her pelvis in a very seductive manner. When you're on top of her she might whisper things in your ear to encourage you. If you lack confidence then she might talk to you about it and say you shouldn't worry so much.

• examples of this type in Soho today: Monica
• examples of this type in the past: Mimi (Polish Mimi)

Pat's story

Pat is a middle-aged woman who I have seen on the Common for many years. She often offered herself to me but I always declined. I remember once she sat next to me on a park bench and explained how she would take men back to her flat in Stockwell. She asked me if I had a pen and some paper and she wrote down her phone number and the rough position of her flat.

She asked me why I didn't want to go with her. Pat seems a nice person and I wanted to be honest with her. I said that I prefer the younger ones like K. and N. She said "I'm not old!" indignantly. I told her that she is not old, but that I just prefer the younger ones.

I don't know how long ago this was, but I saw her again early this year, and she remembered me. I have walked through Tooting Bec Common several times this year on my way to the centre of London. I had not expected to see any women there. I saw an African woman once and a few weeks later I saw Pat. I went and sat next to her and we talked. She said that when I had said to her that I liked younger women like K. and N. she had worried that I might have got robbed. Such women are not safe.

She offered to take me to her flat. I think my curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to see what she had to offer. I asked her if she did oral sex without a condom. She said she did. We had to get two buses to get to her flat, and on one of them a young woman said to her "Hello, you". It was someone she knew from the Common, a young woman who I did not recognize. She was younger and more attractive than Pat. They talked a bit and the woman said that she had not been going to the Common because it just seemed to be the police there now.

We got off the bus and went to her block of flats. Her flat was quite tidy and pleasant enough. I gave her the money, which was twenty pounds. I took off my clothes and lay on her bed. I asked her to give me oral sex without a condom. She didn't want to do it. When I pressed her she said she would try if I gave her more money. I gave her the change in my pocket but she still would not do it. Neither would she let me finger her. So it was a disappointment for me.

I think she had told me that she did oral sex without a condom because she was a bit desperate to get a punter. She guessed that I would not have gone with her if she had been honest with me. I don't think she is a drug addict. It wouldn't surprise me if she was a drinker or if she was on tranquillizers.

I continued my journey to the centre of London. I decided to go and see a woman in Soho who does oral sex without a condom. Most prostitutes in Soho do not give this service, but one place in Greek Street has a couple of women who do. This is not the place in Greek Street that has been called 'the slaughter house'.

I have been to Soho many times recently. There are many places nearer to where I live, but for some reason they seem to be much less value for money. There are some beautiful healthy-looking women in Soho.

I went to the Common a couple of days ago. I was there for an hour or so but did not see any prostitutes. It was a sunny warm day and in the old days I could have expected to see a few. I cannot say that I will never go to Tooting Bec Common again because it is a nice place to be. If I go to Streatham and it is a sunny warm day I will go to the Common too. Or if I am walking through on my way to central London.

However, Soho is more important to me now. I could tell you things about Soho.