Ms Lucy Smith:

Not only as a result of that. I would say the stigma is the main cause of it because we have seen it increase in the last couple of years, with the ongoing media campaigns against sex work. It is also caused by the laws. Sex workers are compelled to work alone in order to work legally, so they are prevented from working with a friend for safety. Therefore, it is due to bad laws as well as the stigma.

There is also the complete lack of any support for sex workers, so when a sex worker is a victim of a crime, they do not have any support organisation to go to or they do not feel able to go to the police. Most people who offend against sex workers are not actually clients or even people with any relation to the sex industry. It is often vigilantes and so forth and people are actually targeting sex workers because they are repeatedly getting the message in society that it is okay to do this. Therefore, I believe stigma is the biggest issue.