Survey of London brothels published
print-friendly versionPosted 8 October 2008
The POPPY Project, at the charity Eaves, has published Big Brothel: a survey of the off-street sex industry in London. Using only adverts in local newspapers, male researchers posing as potential sex buyers identified brothels in every London borough, ranging from 71 in Westminster to eight in Southwark.
An apparent increase in the number of brothels seems to have made competition tougher - as indicated by lower prices, 'special offers' and wider availability of 'specialist services'. This has a direct impact on the vulnerability of the women involved through the more widespread use of unsafe practices, including sex without a condom, as well as offers of 'very young girls'. It is also linked with indicators of higher risks of trafficking women into sexual exploitation.
This is part of the work at Eaves that CPF is funding through its Tackling Modern Day Slavery special initiative Tackling Modern Day Slavery.pdfThe work fits with the Foundation's mission of tackling poverty in London as there is strong evidence that women who work in prostitution do so as a result of poverty and marginalisation, as well as (often) coercion.
The report is available from
Big Brothel - A survey of the Off-Street Sex Industry in London