Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has met with Helena Croft, CEO of Streetlight UK charity to discuss the support available for those involved in prostitution in East Sussex.
Streetlight UK is a frontline specialist and accessible support service operating across Sussex, Surrey and London and providing women with tangible and material pathways out of a lifestyle of prostitution, exploitation, and violence.
The majority of people caught in prostitution are women, sometimes even young teenage girls. Streetlight UK provides non-judgemental, continuous support to those who seek help to exit prostitution and help them feel established and empowered to live a new life free from exploitation and control within the sex trade. In 2021, they supported nearly 600 women involved in prostitution in East Sussex alone, including several cases directly in Wealden.
For more information, or to get in touch with Streetlight UK, visit their website: www.streetlight.uk.com.
Nusrat Ghani said: “We must never judge the choices that women make, including women that choose to enter prostitution. At this recent meeting I was made aware of the number of women of all ages and backgrounds that enter sex trade as a way of income, and I am anxious about those who are coerced or trapped in this situation in Wealden. Streetlight UK offers a discreet wraparound service and I’m pleased to be supporting them in raising awareness among the wider community of the dangers and harms of prostitution, in particular for young people in being groomed and sexually exploited. If you need support, please know you will not be challenged or judged and get in touch with them or the police. I’ll continue working with neighbouring MPs to support Streetlight UK services across East Sussex.”
