Coercion & control

A group of women, formerly involved in prostitution, have brought a legal challenge against government rules on disclosing past convictions for soliciting when applying for jobs or volunteering roles. The case, being heard in the High Court this week, centres on whether the coercion and control involved in most examples of prostitution meets the wider definition of trafficking, making the disclosure policy inconsistent with the Modern Slavery Act. The women say DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks require them to explain their history of abuse, which they find traumatic and humiliating.