Call To Action: Release The Women! No Arrests, No Deportations!

On the 29th of June, police raided houses in Swindon. As a result of these raids, three migrant sex working women are in custody and are due to be deported. They were arrested as a result of the UK’s brothel-keeping laws, which criminalise women working together in a shared space for safety. These laws push sex workers into working alone, making us vulnerable to violence. The raids were done under the guise of “safety”, but arrest and deportation is violence at the hands of the state. 

See our full statement on these raids for more information. 
 
We demand:

  • The immediate release of the arrested women, and the end of criminal or immigration proceedings against them
  • The immediate return of any seized money or possessions belonging to these women
  • The full decriminalisation of sex work

What you can do:

  1. We have created a template letter for you to send to your MP asking for this to be raised as a matter of urgency with the Home Office. Please email your MP with these concerns. You can find our template letter here
  2. On Monday 3rd of July 2017 between 12pm and 3pm, please join us in our Twitterstorm (#TwitterSWARM) in support of the Swindon sex workers awaiting deportation, and to demand their immediate release. Please use your social media to educate your followers about this case, and ask them to contact their MPs using our template letter too. 

Sample tweet 1: “Write to your MP demanding that the sex workers arrested in Swindon last week be released! Details: https://www.swarmcollective.org/blog/2017/7/2/call-to-action-release-the-women-no-arrests-no-deportations #TwitterSWARM

Sample tweet 2: “.@WiltshirePolice Deportation is not protection from trafficking, it’s state violence. Details: https://www.swarmcollective.org/blog/2017/6/30/swarm-statement-on-the-arrests-of-sex-workers-in-swindon #FreeHer #TwitterSWARM”

Sample Tweet 3: “.@WiltshirePolice @UKHomeOffice Sex workers are not protected in a detention centre. Deportation is NOT protection. #FreeHer #TwitterSWARM”

Sample Tweet 4: “Deporting sex workers is not safety. Deportation is NOT protection. @WiltshirePolice @UKHomeOffice #FreeHer #TwitterSWARM”

This image can be used on tweets and other social media:

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