The English Collective of Prostitutes ECP is a self-help organisation of sex workers, working both on the street and in premises, with a national network throughout the UK. This occupation was well photographed, and many women involved opted to wear eye masks when being photographed. The ECP continued their campaigns throughout the s, and in succeeded in achieving private prosecutions for rape charges in England.
In , following the murders of five young women in Ipswich, the ECP was involved in the establishment of the Safety First Coalition. This coalition stressed the need for sex workers safety and campaigned for the decriminalisation of sex work. The English Collective of Prostitutes continued its campaign throughout the s, and remains part of the international sex worker led movement for decriminalisation.
Protest and Campaigning Go to this category page. Back Forward. Sharing similar interests, they were both Communist Party Members and involved with organisations such as the Aid to Spanish Youth Committee.
The archive includes the truncheon taken from the police by Mark Ashton, correspondence, personal scrapbooks, press cuttings, and various other papers relating to the couples activism.
Find out more about the Chris and Betty Birch Archive.
