SAAFE forum

General Category => Sex Work Projects => Topic started by: hello@beloved on 28 March 2022, 05:13:37 pm

Title: Support for Women in Bristol and surrounding areas
Post by: hello@beloved on 28 March 2022, 05:13:37 pm
Beloved offers a friendly, non-judgemental and confidential service for women working in the indoor sex industry in Bristol and the surrounding areas. This includes those who work in massage parlours, sexual entertainment venues, residential addresses, online, hotels and any other indoor setting.

We are service user led and therefore guided by whatever your support needs are. Whether you want emotional support, a cup of tea and a chat, or practical support around safety, housing, benefits, debt or sexual health, we are here to support you.

We offer a holistic package of support which provides for women’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Whilst we are an organisation with a Christian ethos and offer prayer as part of our spiritual support, we welcome women of all faiths and none.

If you would like to get in touch, please check out our website where you will find all our contact info https://beloved.org.uk/i-want-support/
Title: Re: Support for Women in Bristol and surrounding areas
Post by: MsRedhead on 31 March 2022, 03:15:09 pm
Hi,  can you confirm if you support any particular legal model in relation to sex work. I found something that says this "our ministry to help women in indoors prostitution experience the gospel, find comfort and exit the massage parlours. "
Title: Re: Support for Women in Bristol and surrounding areas
Post by: hello@beloved on 05 April 2022, 12:19:14 pm
Hi,
Thanks for your post. I can confirm that we do not support any particular legal model in relation to sex work. We are solely in support of the women we meet and guided by whatever their support needs are. These needs may change over time and we will work with women, wherever they are at in a confidential and non-judgemental way. If women wish to exit, we will support them, if they are happy and content in the work, we will also support them.
Title: Re: Support for Women in Bristol and surrounding areas
Post by: Cass on 07 April 2022, 08:07:08 pm
Supporting a particular legal model on prostitution is not a moral endorsement or a matter of opinion, it's about what's safest for us and I'm sure you understand that a significant number of sex workers are extremely wary of organisations who refuse to support laws that make us safer. Most exit orgs these days say they're neutral but have staff who support laws that harm us, so you should be aware that you can't properly support sex workers if this is the case.
Title: Re: Support for Women in Bristol and surrounding areas
Post by: catlady85 on 13 May 2022, 09:51:41 am
Can I ask what your qualifications are for working with sex working?

Being Christian doesn't count.
Title: Re: Support for Women in Bristol and surrounding areas
Post by: Cass on 16 May 2022, 08:15:12 pm
Quote
Can I ask what your qualifications are for working with sex working?

I think it's important that this is answered, particularly as you are offering support with "safety, housing, benefits, debt or sexual health". If you don't actually have any expertise in these areas and you're not willing to advocate for sex workers rights in any way I think your motives are questionable.
Title: Re: Support for Women in Bristol and surrounding areas
Post by: hello@beloved on 17 May 2022, 11:37:34 am
Hi,

Apologies for the delay in replying. So in terms of our experience, we currently have both staff and board members who have worked in the sex industry as well as an advisory board of women who have worked, or are still working, in the industry. The feedback of the women who use Beloved is really important to us and is something we use to inform our services going forwards.

In terms of the staff team, we have staff with social work, nursing and law qualifications as well as the experience that we have had supporting women in the industry. Although we are newly advertising on saafe, we have been working in Bristol for 10 years and have supported women in all of the areas mentioned above. If we aren't able to support a woman, where we don't have expertise, we will ensure that she is supported to access a service that can meet her needs.
Title: Re: Support for Women in Bristol and surrounding areas
Post by: Cass on 17 May 2022, 05:39:08 pm
Quote
Although we are newly advertising on saafe, we have been working in Bristol for 10 years

Yes I'm aware of your history and that's how I know you are an exit organisation who has been trying to save us with prayer. Being neutral on laws that harm sex workers is not good enough and I suspect your staff still privately support the Nordic model. I think, like other orgs I could mention, you have just become aware that the optics of being a Nordic model supporting exit org are bad so you're rebranding on the surface but doing the same old act underneath.