Conditional consent: How the justice system fails sex workers who are sexually assaulted

An interesting exploration of consent within the context of sex work, and the ramifications of not honoring and protecting the rights of workers.

In March, a man was given an extended jail sentence for raping a sex worker after removing his condom during sex. The woman had specifically stated that all her clients must use protection, and he ignored her pleas to stop after removing the condom. The case highlighted the legal concept of ‘conditional consent’. This is the understanding that consent for sex is usually based on conditions – in this case, the use of a condom – and that, if those conditions aren’t met, consent is negated.

When it comes to sex work, consent is based on conditions such as services offered, protection used and payment. In an industry that is partially criminalized and rife with exploitation, abuse happens. However, sex workers’ trust of the police is low and offences often go unreported. In 2018, sex worker alert service, National Ugly Mugs (NUM), received 820 reports, detailing 1,152 crimes against sex workers, including 102 reports of rape and attempted rape and 63 reports of sexual assault. Only 21 per cent of victims were willing to formally report to police.

England and Wales have seen a significant fall in rape prosecutions. In the 12 months to 2017-18, there was a 23 per cent drop in the number of rape cases taken on by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), despite a 16 per cent increase in reports. The CPS has been threatened with being taken to court by women’s organisations, who claim cases are being dropped without good reason. Sex workers are particularly vulnerable.

The whole report at inews