“I survived and have overcome it all as took me a year since stopped working and have been to college, retrained and now have a job I’m happy in and feel I can do anything now. Thank you so much, you won’t be forgotten by me!"
The service has been running since 2015. It was created in a response to women involved in selling sex experiencing regional inconsistencies in the availability of specialist services able to meet their support needs. It was developed in consultation with women selling sex in multiple settings and those who had exited.
It’s a free, confidential, national remote telephone support service offering long-term support. Women can self–refer or engage via agency referral.
Women can access 1:1 specialist, trauma-informed, person-centred, holistic support, with compassionate, trained, and experienced specialist Women Support Workers. Each ongoing support call lasts 45 minutes; they take place Monday – Thursday 9am – 4pm, and Friday 9am – 1pm. The time and frequency of calls are set in collaboration between a woman and her Women’s Support Worker.
Who is it for?
Anyone currently involved in selling sex, previously involved in selling sex, or those contemplating selling sex can access this service; this includes women involved in selling sex indoors, escorting, in a massage parlour, online or on the street.
Women accessing this service all have their own personal support needs and goals; examples of why women seek our support include:
Our Beyond Support staff team are here to listen, help women identify their next steps, and achieve those goals.
Women’s Support Workers are available to take women’s calls Monday – Thursday 9am – 4pm, and Friday 9am – 1pm.
If no Woman Support Worker is available to take a call, or women call outside of these times, they can leave their mobile phone number or email address. Alternatively women can email us at support@beyondthestreets.org.uk. We will then call or email women back to arrange a support call.
Each woman’s journey reflects
her own personal situation, what the change looks like, and the time it takes to achieve, is as individual as the women themselves.
After an initial contact, if the woman is seeking long-term specialist support we will arrange for an initial assessment to take place to identify any support needs and what women want from the engagement. Then the frequency and timeframe of future support will be chosen in collaboration between a woman and their Women’s Support Worker.
Calls provide a safe, non-judgmental space for women to be heard, to reflect, process feelings and to explore change with those who understand and actively listen. We provide safety planning, self-care techniques and where needed help women to build their confidence and personal agency so they can identify their own needs, devise their own journeys, and set their own goals. Through specialist partners we secure free counselling for women when this support need is identified.
Collaboratively we identify, with women, support needs that act as a barrier to progress and, if requested, help women access their local services including within housing, benefits and grants (e.g. energy costs) and mental, physical and sexual health. We are able to convene meetings with multiple agencies to advocate for women’s needs to be met within these themes and others. We also attend meetings with women or on behalf of them. We act as a bridge to build and maintain relationships between women and services in their community; helping them get their specific needs met.
Journeys are tailored to each individual but common outcomes for women engaged in the project previously include: improved access to support and specialist services (creating long term impact changes in housing, finances, physical health); improved personal safety and self-agency; improved mental health; reduced isolation and expanded support network; reduction/ceasing of selling sex; and entry into education, employment and training.
We are a team run by women for women. We’re experienced in working with adult women in complex situations and have the ability to access a wide network of practitioners across the UK (we are unable to work with those who are Under 18 years of age).
We’re a long-term, free, confidential, remote, support service. We’re here to listen and support women as they make decisions about their lives. We give them information if they feel they need it, support them to access and maintain access to key services if asked, and advocate in these spaces on their behalf only when entrusted to.
We’re a trauma-informed specialist organisation and recognise the need to take a trauma-informed approach in all we do. This includes ensuring an environment within Beyond Support that minimises the chance of re-traumatisation, respects that women are experts in their own lives, and recognises the strength and resilience of the women we journey alongside.
We work as a team and keep what women tell us confidential. We place a huge amount of importance on the trust placed in us by women. For more information on how we protect women and their confidentiality, please click here.
Beyond Support is for all women and we work hard to ensure the project is accessible by all. Our very purpose is to reduce limitations and increase possibilities for the women we support. We see the whole person and refuse to reduce anyone to a label. We educate to improve the inclusion of the women we support as equal, valued, members in society. We recognise some women face greater barriers to accessing services than others and we work hard to remove barriers to engagement within this project and welcome feedback within this area.
Have you heard of National Ugly Mugs? It’s an independent reporting system for those in the sex industry, you can sign up for free and get alerts about clients to avoid, they have a number checker and email checker to help you screen clients, and you can submit your own reports of dodgy/dangerous clients to them – you can look on their website or you can call them on 0161 629 9861 and speak to one of their case work team to get some more information