At CSE Aware – a national awareness raising and capacity building project – we are motivated by a vision that services are confident and skilled in supporting women who sell or exchange sex. It is estimated that women who sell or exchange sex engage with seven different sectors, with housing being a key sector (see Figure 1).

As we wrote, housing is closely linked to the experience of selling or exchanging sex – it can push them into this activity, remain an issue while they are involved and act as a barrier when they choose to leave the ‘sex industry’. The 2023 Encompass Snapshot of seven specialist services across Scotland showed that 67% of supported women had been homeless at some stage in their life.

Selling sex is a hidden issue – while women are part of the service provision landscape, many do not disclose that they are affected by CSE. To increase awareness of this issue as well as staff’s confidence in recognising the signs of involvement and applying best practice, we have developed a number of free resources.

CSE Aware website provides an in-depth exploration of women’s needs, including housing, substance use, poverty, immigration and motherhood. The latest animation and resource pack on facilitating disclosures address key barriers that women and service providers face, and sends the message ‘when the time is right, ask women about their involvement in selling sex’.

Our online training programme offers an opportunity to learn about CSE at an introductory session, while those familiar with the issue can deepen their knowledge at the Facilitating Disclosures and Safety Strategies for Women who Sell Sex training sessions.

To subscribe to our bulletin and/or information about our events and training, please click here. If you have any questions, please get in touch at Enquiries@WomensSupportProject.org.uk.