Prevention of Modern Slavery within Sex Work: the role of Adult Services Websites
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leicester
Department Name: Criminology
Abstract
The landscape of where modern slavery and sexual exploitation takes place has changed over the past decade with the onset of digital technologies dominating the organisation of the commercial sex industry. Adult Service Websites, where most sexual services are advertised, negotiated and facilitated in the UK, have been identified as a space where offenders and traffickers can manipulate, entrap, coerce and force individuals into selling sexual services. Whilst the majority of commercial sex interactions are amongst consenting adults and legal, the role of ASWs in facilitating offending behaviour is complicated and least regulated. There are many agencies trying to understand this relationship, with national intelligence services understanding routes to trafficking and the police working to identify victims and target offenders. In addition there are first responders who deliver interventions to victims to assist with treating their crimes seriously and helping individuals move away from exploiters. This project, will for the first time, bring together a range of organisations who are working to prevent modern slavery in ASWs, in an effort to understand, share new knowledge and learning, and work towards strategies and actions plans that can reduce crimes of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The core partners in the project are the National Crime Agency, National Police Chief's Council, and the NGO Unseen. Together we will investigate how ASWs can be at the forefront of preventing modern slavery, what those who use ASWs to sell and buy sex think about the platforms, legislation to govern them and strategies to prevent harm. The design of the project includes survivors who will inform the research process, data analysis and knowledge transfer activities. Capacity building activities are built into the design by implementing a training programme for survivors around research skills, upskilling, employability skills and access to higher education. We plan to develop training for third party businesses around sexual exploitation as well as engage the ASW operators in developing transparent and robust mechanisms to prevent their websites harbouring exploitation. Our work will feed directly into government discussions, APPGs and other forums to bring this contemporary data to the places where modern slavery, sex work and policing are discussed at strategic and operational levels.
People |
ORCID iD |
| T Sanders (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Hopkins M
(2023)
Organised Crime and the ecosystems of sexual exploitation in the United Kingdom: How supply and demand generate sexual exploitation and protection from prosecution
in Trends in Organized Crime
Hopkins, M
(2023)
Organised Crime and the ecosystems of sexual exploitation in the United Kingdom: How supply and demand generate sexual exploitation and protection from prosecution
in Trends in Organised Crime
Keighley R
(2023)
Participatory action research: Developing a collaborative approach to modern slavery research with survivors of exploitation
in Methodological Innovations
Keighley R
(2024)
The Eyes and Ears of Sexual Exploitation Online: Are Sex Buyers Part of the Prevention Puzzle to Reduce Harms in the Online Sex Industry?
in The British Journal of Criminology
Keighley, R
(2023)
Participatory action research: Developing a collaborative approach to modern slavery research with survivors of exploitation
in Methodological Innovations
Sanders, T
(2023)
The Role of Adult Service Websites in Addressing Modern Slavery
| Title | ASW Briefing: Prevention of Modern Slavery within Sex Work: the role of Adult Services Websites |
| Description | PDF of findings from ASW Operators interviewed as part of large project looking at the role of ASWs in facilitating and preventing Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking online. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/ASW_Briefing_Prevention_of_Modern_Slavery_within_Sex_Work_... |
| Title | ASW Briefing: Prevention of Modern Slavery within Sex Work: the role of Adult Services Websites |
| Description | PDF of findings from ASW Operators interviewed as part of large project looking at the role of ASWs in facilitating and preventing Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking online. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Viewable as a collection alongside other research findings for dissemination to stakeholder audiences including law enforcement, Ofcom, Home Office, and practitioner and first responder organisations. |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/ASW_Briefing_Prevention_of_Modern_Slavery_within_Sex_Work_... |
| Title | Action Learning Set resources for peer research methods |
| Description | A set of powerpoints for Action Learning Set and Participatory Action research with survivors of modern slavery. Helpful for anyone wishing to carry out PAR with community members with lived experience of crime/vulnerability or hard to reach populations. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/presentation/Action_Learning_Set_resources_for_peer_research_meth... |
| Title | Action Learning Set resources for peer research methods |
| Description | A set of powerpoints for Action Learning Set and Participatory Action research with survivors of modern slavery. Helpful for anyone wishing to carry out PAR with community members with lived experience of crime/vulnerability or hard to reach populations. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/presentation/Action_Learning_Set_resources_for_peer_research_meth... |
| Title | Modern slavery research poster |
| Description | Research poster co-produced with peers at Unseen highlighting/summaring our research project looking at the role of Adult Service Websites in addressing modern slavery. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/Modern_slavery_research_poster/23629005 |
| Title | Modern slavery research poster |
| Description | Research poster co-produced with peers at Unseen highlighting/summaring our research project looking at the role of Adult Service Websites in addressing modern slavery. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/Modern_slavery_research_poster/23629005/1 |
| Title | Police Briefing: Prevention of Modern Slavery within Sex Work: the role of Adult Services Websites |
| Description | PDF of a briefing sharing findings from interviews with law enforcement based on research project looking at ASWs and modern slavery/human trafficking. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/Police_Briefing_Prevention_of_Modern_Slavery_within_Sex_Wo... |
| Title | Police Briefing: Prevention of Modern Slavery within Sex Work: the role of Adult Services Websites |
| Description | PDF of a briefing sharing findings from interviews with law enforcement based on research project looking at ASWs and modern slavery/human trafficking. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Viewable as a collection alongside other research findings for dissemination to stakeholder audiences including law enforcement, Ofcom, Home Office, and practitioner and first responder organisations. |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/Police_Briefing_Prevention_of_Modern_Slavery_within_Sex_Wo... |
| Title | Policy Brief - The regulation of ASWs |
| Description | Policy briefing PDF as part of large project looking at the role of ASWs in facilitating and preventing Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking onlin |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/Policy_Brief_-_The_regulation_of_ASWs/23900205 |
| Title | Policy Brief - The regulation of ASWs |
| Description | Policy briefing PDF as part of large project looking at the role of ASWs in facilitating and preventing Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking onlin |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/Policy_Brief_-_The_regulation_of_ASWs/23900205/1 |
| Title | Practitioners briefing: Prevention of Modern Slavery within Sex Work: the role of Adult Services Websites |
| Description | A PDF briefing of the findings from our ASW/MSHT research project specifically sharing data from interviews with practitioners/first responders. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/Practitioners_briefing_Prevention_of_Modern_Slavery_within... |
| Title | Practitioners briefing: Prevention of Modern Slavery within Sex Work: the role of Adult Services Websites |
| Description | A PDF briefing of the findings from our ASW/MSHT research project specifically sharing data from interviews with practitioners/first responders. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/poster/Practitioners_briefing_Prevention_of_Modern_Slavery_within... |
| Title | Research poster |
| Description | Research poster highlighting our research project co-produced with the peer researchers at Unseen. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | This product was printed and shared at the School of Criminology in the University of Leicester and is used as a digital and creative summary of our research to share with stakeholders. |
| Description | - ASWs are host to large amounts of intelligence and therefore must play a crucial role in the identification and prevention of MSHT amongst the online sex industry, including working alongside the police and NGOs supporting survivors of exploitation. - ASW current responsibilities include multi-layered ID verification and reporting tools, safety centres and partnerships with the police, proactive removal, and human/AI moderation of content. o However, these measures are not universal among all ASW platforms and there is a distinct lack of safeguarding practices across the platforms examined in this project. The regulation of ASWs should include robust prevention measures: • Standardised, robust and continuous verification checks of adverts on ASW platforms, including: o ID and age verification; o checking for duplicates of adverts (including photos used, text descriptions and mobile numbers); o before an advert goes live, the ASW should have to make contact with the worker, both to verify their identity and to make sure someone else is not in possession of their phone or advert, including a mechanism for asking for help/support; o verification of financial data including use of traceable payment methods. • Proactive identification of cases of MSHT and/or suspicious activity through AI moderation and human review of content*, including: o Flagging of multiple adverts under one account (or one form of ID//phone number/payment method); o suspicious bank accounts or transactions; o the text of an advert: including use of Google translate, certain emojis (codes for risky/illegal sexual behaviour), copied text from other adverts and/or poor language use, and suspicious phrase use (such as 'girls changing, new girls weekly'); o advertising of risky services (such as bareback, sex without a condom); low prices; o and analysing the pictures relating to the advert for stock images or image duplicates. • Clear reporting measures including designated support pages, partnerships with modern slavery NGOs and pop-ups informing users of their reporting responsibilities. • Mandatory and proactive sharing of data between ASWs and the police regarding suspected exploitation cases, including the sharing of: o financial data; o IP addresses; o phone numbers; o messages and advert details. • Robust & accessible safeguarding mechanisms, including: o partnership work with NGOs to support survivors of exploitation; o embedded referrals to ASW support pages; o an on-hand support team; o information on MSHT and what to do if you suspect someone is being exploited; o and a general Trust and Safety Centre to protect all users of their platforms. • Deterrence tools which discourage traffickers from operating on ASWs for example, increased prosecutions and sentences for convicted traffickers and pop-up deterrence messaging for platform users. *There is a recognition that on their own these are not necessarily indictors of exploitation or illegal behaviour, but also of consensual sex working activities - The ASWs interviewed offer some examples of best practice guidance on ASW platform safety and supporting survivors of modern slavery and identifying potential cases of exploitation on their platforms. - ASWs evaluated forthcoming legislation exploring the Online Safety Bill and how it will seek to regulate ASWs including foreseeing potential disadvantages of greater regulation (such as the displacement of victims, stigma towards consensual sex work, enforcement issues and data privacy), and how it will shape their responsibilities. - There is evidence that when browsing sex worker profiles verification checks are carried out by sex buyers to ensure the sex worker is not displaying obvious signs of sexual exploitation. - Greater methods of reporting concerns are needed both to ASWs and the police - there needs to be more education for sex buyers on where to send concerning information. - Sex buyers in the survey were broadly in agreement for greater regulation of ASWs. - Sex buyers are arguably the initial group who would see signs of exploitation, and therefore could play an even greater role than they currently do. |
| Exploitation Route | - change in practices on ASWA - Ofcom taking into account the recommendations for responsibilising web platforms |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://modernslaverypec.org/resources/adult-services-websites |
| Description | The research findings have been integrated into policing practice regarding partnership work with adult service websites and law enforcement activities via further understanding processes of prevention activities that can be applied to prevent sexual exploitation, modern slavery and human trafficking. This is via the National Police Chief Council guidance and working directly with National Crime Agency on specific prevention projects. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Consultation on Codes of Practice for Ofcom |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Home Affairs Committee on Human Trafficking Evidence |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/38a31f62-f4cf-401c-8815-4efce4be26c2 |
| Description | Influence the NPCC policing sex work guidelines |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Impact | Updates to the national policing working group for sex work and prostitution and contributed to the guidance. |
| URL | https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/publications/disclosure-logs/npcc-central-o... |
| Description | Informed policing guidance on adult service websites |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | educating frontline police on working with adult service websites; further understanding of how platforms can be part of the prevention puzzle for modern slavery and sexual exploitation |
| URL | https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/publications/publications-log/national-crim... |
| Description | Meeting with Ofcom on Online Safety Bill Codes of Conduct |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Utilising our research findings to shape Ofcom's Codes of Conduct to ensure ASWs are regulated to prevent Modern Slavery without displacement of illegal activity. |
| Description | University of Leicester ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Event/Networking Fund |
| Amount | £1,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/T501967/1 |
| Organisation | University of Leicester |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Title | Survivor peer working group |
| Description | With our partnership with Unseen we engaged with ethical survivor involvement in peer research. We worked under Unseen's Survivor Involvement protocol and strategy to inform the setup of the project and the ethical approach to involving adult survivors. Peers were to be involved through participation in the advisory group, instrument design, implementation, analysis and the dissemination phase. We carried out a training and support needs analysis at the beginning of the project to ascertain what skills people bring, what they would like to develop for further personal and career development and if there are any additional requirements they may need to enable participation (e.g interpreting services, child care costs, travel costs and/or payment). We provided capacity building through a bespoke training package made up of six sessions over the lifetime of the project. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The peer survivor group played an active role in contributing to: 1. Instrument tool design 2. Research implementation 3. Data analysis 4. Dissemination of findings |
| Title | Interview questions for ASW operators |
| Description | These are the questions for the interviews with Adult Service Website Operators exploring the Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation. 5 interviews carried out. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Interview_questions_for_ASW_operators/23629308 |
| Title | Interview questions for ASW operators |
| Description | These are the questions for the interviews with Adult Service Website Operators exploring the Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation. 5 interviews carried out. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Interview_questions_for_ASW_operators/23629308/1 |
| Title | Interview questions for law enforcement |
| Description | These are the questions for the interviews with law enforcement officers in England and Wales exploring the Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation. 30 interviews carried out over 23 forces. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Interview_questions_for_law_enforcement/23629323/1 |
| Title | Interview questions for law enforcement |
| Description | These are the questions for the interviews with law enforcement officers in England and Wales exploring the Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation. 30 interviews carried out over 23 forces. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Interview_questions_for_law_enforcement/23629323 |
| Title | Interview questions for practitioners |
| Description | These are the questions for the interviews with practitioners and first responders exploring the Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation. 13 interviews carried out. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Interview_questions_for_practitioners/23629329 |
| Title | Interview questions for practitioners |
| Description | These are the questions for the interviews with practitioners and first responders exploring the Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation. 13 interviews carried out. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Interview_questions_for_practitioners/23629329/1 |
| Title | Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation.pdf |
| Description | These are the questions for the survey targeting sex buyers who purchase sexual services on ASWs to understand their views on the Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation. 142 responses. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Regulation_Of_Online_Websites_and_The_Prevention_Of_Sexua... |
| Title | Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation.pdf |
| Description | These are the questions for the survey targeting sex buyers who purchase sexual services on ASWs to understand their views on the Regulation Of Online Websites and The Prevention Of Sexual Exploitation. 142 responses. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Regulation_Of_Online_Websites_and_The_Prevention_Of_Sexua... |
| Title | The role of adult service websites in addressing modern slavery |
| Description | Adult Service Websites (ASW), where most sexual services are advertised, negotiated and facilitated in the UK, have been identified as a space where offenders and traffickers can manipulate, entrap, coerce and force individuals into selling sexual services. The role of adult websites in facilitating offending behaviour is complicated and unregulated. There are many agencies trying to recognise this relationship, with national intelligence services trying to understand routes to trafficking, the police working to identify victims and target offenders, and first responders delivering interventions to people with lived experience of commercial sexual exploitation. Researchers from the University of Leicester, the National Crime Agency, National Police Chief's Council, and the Unseen will investigate what role adult service websites can play in preventing human trafficking and sexual exploitation in the UK, and their role in wider policies and laws on this issue. It will explore how website operators see their role in preventing abuses, what those who use such websites to sell and buy sexual services think about these platforms in the context of identifying abuses and barriers to reporting, as well as exploring the usefulness of tighter regulations to govern them and prevent harm. Research team: Prof. Teela Sanders, Dr Rachel Keighley and PDRA (University of Leicester), Unseen UK, National Crime Agency, National Police Chief's Council and Unseen Survivor Network representatives. This research was funded by an open funding call on the links between modern slavery and wider laws and policies, run in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Changes in policing and safeguarding practices and direct input into Ofcom's Codes of Conduct to support the Online Safety Bill and regulatory frameworks affecting ASWs. |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/collections/The_role_of_adult_service_websites_in_addressing_modern_slaver... |
| Description | National Crime Agency |
| Organisation | National Crime Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Our data will provide information to inform the development of the NCA/ASW group and influence whistleblowing, moderation processes and enhance reporting of 'red flags'. The APPG on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery will be the main conduit for the findings so these can directly influence government policy making processes. The Human Trafficking Foundation will also be a key recipient of the findings as an umbrella organisation to influence all sectors and stakeholders preventing MSHT. The proposed research collaboration will greatly advance understanding of modern slavery, specifically commercial sexual exploitation and better equip a wide range of organisations across policing, HMG and third sector to intervene effectively. The results will add value across the 4Ps harm reduction framework (prevent, protect, pursue and prepare) in which we work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our contact at the NCA lead in facilitating the contribution of the NCA to this project providing an advisory, facilitation and stakeholder role. Influencing existing working groups: The findings of this research may be used for evidence and action planning in several organisations. The NCA have a subgroup specialising in knowledge gathering around ASWs and establishing appropriate working relationships with these external businesses. They are working towards implementing a voluntary code of conduct This research team will be utilising these sensitive relationships to gather new data and will provide a foundation for future stakeholder networks. The NCA will share understanding of the MSHT landscape in relation to online spaces, assist with engaging ASWs and facilitating the inclusion of ASWs who would not normally be accessible for research. The MSHTU will support in project design and input to research methodology, facilitate interviews with NCA personnel who offer insight and expertise on sexual exploitation, ASWs and policing and facilitate access to ASW providers whom the agency hold existing working relationships, for recruitment into the project. The NCA will also explore the potential to share existing closed knowledge with the research team. |
| Impact | Using the findings to influence the work of government groups should target harden the industry against misuse by traffickers and disrupt MSHT offending, leading to swifter identification and more effective safeguarding of MSHT victims. This in turn will influence recommendations regarding the regulation of ASWs and sex work, policing guidance and operational practice via NPCC and future priorities taken by law enforcement agencies such as NCA. This research will provide evidence based support which can be used to develop a spectrum of ASW regulation options, either captured within the Online Safety Bill or independently, which can raise industry standards and target harden the online sex industry against MSHT and sexual exploitation. This approach aligns with current NCA, Home Office and law enforcement strategy and ongoing industry engagement with ASWs. The NCA are happy to engage in the findings in 2023 and explore opportunities to share knowledge across policing and with our wider HMG and law enforcement partners. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | National Police Chiefs Council |
| Organisation | National Police Chiefs Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Professor Sanders is bringing together organisations who have been working on ASWs through policing and regulatory frameworks to utilise expertise to conduct novel and important research. Bringing in the NGO Unseen into these conversations regarding modern slavery and the role of ASWS in preventing and causing is an importance piece of the jigsaw regarding addressing exploitation in the sex industry. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The working group has responsibility for formulating national strategy and operational guidance both for police forces across England and Wales but also for a range of partners who work alongside the police. The NPCC Sex work and Policing working group will act as a Core Partner in this project. They lead in facilitating the contribution of the police to this project and will have an active role as an adviser, facilitator and stakeholder in the dissemination and impact process. The working group has five priorities, namely: 1. Building a knowledge base from which to inform practice 2. Undertaking work to reduce the vulnerability of sex workers 3. Targeting those causing harm, in order to prevent and deter further exploitation 4. Building consistency of practice across England and Wales 5. Contributing to consideration of system reform The two priorities that are the core objectives include; reducing vulnerability and tackling those who exploit. The other priorities are enablers which enhance the extent to which we can positively impact upon the lives of sex workers. The contributions that can be made in kind through the NPCC leadership and the working group (of which Professor Sanders is a member) are in relation to additional expertise around policing and the work that has been going on with ASWS over the last 3-4 years. The NPCC will be able to facilitate interviews to relevant police personnel to discuss the research questions and bring insight into existing knowledge. |
| Impact | There appears to be great opportunity for legacy with this project as it will set out the foundations of a key stakeholder network group to address operational concerns in the future. The NPCC would be happy to engage with the findings in 2023 in relation to SPOC training and pushing out the information to relevant police organisations. The findings will be incorporated into the training Sanders delivers with the NPCC Special Point of Contact for sex work across the UK. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Unseen |
| Organisation | Unseen |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | 1. Provided bespoke research skills training and career development to the peer group 2. Provided opportunities for peer engagement in research project including instrument design, implementation and analysis |
| Collaborator Contribution | Unseen have been a key partner in the Prevention of Modern Slavery project. 1. Facilitated the research by promoting the research to key stakeholders and partners 2. Developed training for ASWs 3. Assisting with co-research peer participation in the advisory group, instrument design, implementation, analysis and the dissemination phase. 4. Ongoing expert advice on project outputs 5. Responsibility for analysing historical data 6. Provided individual support, training, mentoring and safeguarding planning for survivors. 7. lead role in developing a sustainable network of stakeholders after this project has completed. |
| Impact | 1. Training - Unseen will develop a training package to flag how to spot harms, what ASWs do both in terms of good and bad practice, and how to effectively report. This training package will be for ASWs and for third party organisations about ASWs. Unseen will include ASW training in their training strategy going forward. They will create e-learning materials and videos with survivor guidance as key resources to embed in the training. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Academic conference: Online sex work & platform governance: can regulation make things safer? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 43 participants attended our academic online conference where 5 academics gave presentations around their research into sex work, modern slavery and online governance. These included: - Dr Carolina Are, University of Northumbria: Identifying malicious flagging through user experience - Dr Helen Rand, University of Greenwich: What does the proposed Online Safety Bill mean for sex workers? - Dr Rachel Keighley / Prof Teela Sanders, University of Leicester: Can the regulation of adult service websites reduce sexual exploitation in the sex industry? - Dr Xavier L'Hoiry, University of Sheffield: Working with law enforcement to tackle commercial sexual exploitation on Adult Service Websites - Hanne Stegeman, University of Amsterdam: Regulating and representing camming: Strict limits on acceptable content on webcam sex platforms |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Home Affairs Committee on Human Trafficking Evidence |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | After submitting some written evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on Human Trafficking Professor Teela Sanders was invited to participate in a series of oral committee evidence meetings at the Houses of Parliament on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/38a31f62-f4cf-401c-8815-4efce4be26c2 |
| Description | Home Office meeting: Sharing findings from sex buyers survey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Individuals from the Modern Slavery and Violence Against Women and Girls Home Office Teams who are tasked with preventing modern slavery, including in the design and support of the Online Safety Act attended a personalised, closed door webinar where we shared the findings of our survey looking at the views of sex buyers on increased regulation in the online space. This proved important for the Home Office as sex buyers are viewed as intelligence pools and whistleblowers who can aid investigations into MSHT online and for a balance to be struck between regulating the online sex industry versus displacing consensual and illegal activities to less regulated spaces |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | NCA meeting: Sharing findings from sex buyers survey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Individuals from the NCA who are tasking with policing modern slavery attended a personalised, closed door webinar where we shared the findings of our survey looking at the views of sex buyers on increased regulation in the online space. This proved important for the NCA as sex buyers are viewed as intelligence pools and whistleblowers who can aid police investigations into MSHT online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Ofcom meeting: Sharing findings from sex buyers survey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Individuals from Ofcom who are tasked with writing the Codes of Conduct to support the Online Safety Bill attended a personalised, closed door webinar where we shared the findings of our survey looking at the views of sex buyers on increased regulation in the online space. This proved important for Ofcom as sex buyers are viewed as intelligence pools and whistleblowers who can aid investigations into MSHT online and for a balance to be struck between regulating the online sex industry versus displacing consensual and illegal activities to less regulated spaces. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Police workshop: Tackling sexual exploitation on Adult Service Websites |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 140 law enforcement officers in England and Wales and a few postgraduate students and practitioners attended our workshop sharing the findings from interviews with police officers exploring the role of ASWs in preventing modern slavery online. Feedback and discussion was positive with law enforcement learning about new identification tools (e.g. STIM) and the ways they can play a role in working alongside ASWs to prevent MSHT. Particularly powerful was a session given by Vivastreet on their working practices and a peer researcher who shared their experiences working on the project and demonstrating the value of lived experience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Practitioners workshop: Preventing sexual exploitation on Adult Service Websites |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 206 individuals from practitioner and first responder organisations, law enforcement and UK Universities attended our practitioner specialised webinar sharing the findings of the interviews with practitioners and first responders exploring the role of ASWs in preventing modern slavery online. There was a lot of questions and discussion during the event, as individuals learnt more about how regulation in the online space can be designed to protect sex workers and stop trafficking online. Particularly powerful was a session given by Vivastreet on their working practices and a peer researcher who shared their experiences working on the project and demonstrating the value of lived experience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Revenge Porn Helpline meeting: Sharing findings from sex buyers survey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Individuals from the UK's Revenge Porn Helpline attended a personalised, closed door webinar where we shared the findings of our survey looking at the views of sex buyers on increased regulation in the online space. This proved important as sex buyers are considered intelligence pools and whistleblowers who can aid investigations into MSHT online and for a balance to be struck between regulating the online sex industry versus displacing consensual and illegal activities to less regulated spaces. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Revenge Porn Helpline workshop: Preventing sexual exploitation on Adult Service Websites |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Presented to practitioners working at the Uk's Revenge Porn Helpline sharing the findings of the interviews with practitioners and first responders exploring the role of ASWs in preventing modern slavery online. There was a lot of questions and discussion during the event, as individuals learnt more about how regulation in the online space can be designed to protect sex workers and stop trafficking online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk at Gender Research Group Annual Conference: 'Contemporary Sexualities'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Professor Teela Sanders and Dr Rachel Keighley were invited to give a keynote presentation. Title: Sexualities online: liberation, exploitation and responses to perpetrators Abstract: The online space offers huge potential for identity exploration, social interaction and support as well as body/sexual labour and work. Both in terms of the economy of online spaces and the freedoms and liberations associated with online communities there is a darker side to internet use, such that the online space can facilitate a wide array of legal and illegal harms. Prime examples are the ways a person's sexuality is the subject of discrimination and marginalisation. This paper draws on two empirical studies. One surveyed 175 13-25-year-old LGBTQ+ young people about their experiences of online hate targeting their sexuality. The other, engaging in critical Modern Slavery studies, explored the ways Adult Service Websites play a role in the facilitation and prevention of sexual exploitation of women. Consequently, we hope to illustrate the ways the online world both shapes our understanding of, and responses to sexualities and sexual behaviour. We contextualise these experiences within the broader conversations around online safety, and the policing of sexualities versus targeting perpetrators of hate and exploitation. Thus, we respond to the deeper societal attitudes relating to gender norms, sexual behaviour, and their dialectical relationship. This paper underlines the importance of challenging online hate and exploitation within a cohesive regulatory framework that recognises the needs of survivors of online harm. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |