Policing Vulnerability: The Role of the Sex Work Liaison Officer

Join us for an open seminar involving three short talks from researchers working on studies which  focus on the work of Sex Work Liaison Officers (SWLO) based within different police forces in the UK.

The event will explore connections and divergences between the policing of sex work in different localities, with the aim of progressing research agendas and practice which can support safer working conditions and justice for sex workers in a context of criminalisation.

Dr Rosie Campbell OBE will give brief insights into the history of SWLO roles in the UK, as well as an overview of more recent development of the SWLO role in Merseyside, where crimes against sex workers are treated as hate crimes. Rosie has been at the forefront of sex work research and practice for decades, with her current research focussed on issues of safety, violence, policing and crimes/hate crimes in the context of sex workers’ diverse and intersectional experiences. She Co-Chairs the Sex Work Research Hub (SWRH) based at the University of York which connects sex work researchers and academics across a range of universities and disciplines.

Dr Emily Cooper and Dr Ian Cook will consider the ways in which sex work is regulated locally and regionally in England and Wales. They will draw on two research projects: one on-going project that examines the geographical divergence and orchestration of policing sex work within one police force, and the other a proposed project that will explore the role and effectiveness of police liaison officers in relation to sex workers and other marginalised groups in the UK.

Dr Kate Brown and Sharon Grace will introduce a current funded research project (with Dr Scarlett Redman, Professor Maggie O’Neill and Dr Alison Jobe) reviewing the role of the Sex Work Liaison Officer within West Yorkshire Police, where the current model of policing sex work prioritises safety and protection over enforcement action. They will provide an overview of the aims and methods of the study as well as some tentative preliminary insights generated through the early stages of fieldwork. 

Please come along and join the discussion, all welcome. Please register for this free event.