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Background National Ugly Mugs (NUM) is a UK-wide violence prevention and victim support charity that provides a mechanism for sex workers to share safety information and obtain support for harms that they may experience during the course of their work. Over the past several years, NUM has witnessed a decline in sex workers willing to access police as part of their recovery journeys after experiencing victimisation. In 2012, 28% of those reporting to NUM chose to engage with the legal system; in 2020, this was down to 7.7% amongst off-street independent workers. Statistics for 2021 indicate a continuation of this downward trend. Furthermore, anonymous consent to share information with police also declined from 95% in 2012 to 69% in 2020. Methods NUM conducted a survey of 88 sex working members in 2020. This information combined with our data on victimisation provides insights of the factors that deter sex workers from involving police as part of their justice-seeking efforts. Results Survey results reveal that sex workers feel alienated and untrusting of police and courts. Conclusions The implications of sex workers not sharing information about dangerous individuals with police and choosing not to participate in court processes signal significant flaws in our legal system regarding safe and inequitable access and pose dangers for all of us.

As part of a larger study examining the effects of the design of the off-street sex industry on sex worker's health and safety practices, eight sex work experts who had experience as sex workers and as advocates and service providers were interviewed to garner their community engagement expertise in shaping the research. During narrative interviews, these experts discussed how stigma influenced their personal lives and their social justice work among sex workers. Their insights into stigma are unique to the literature because our experts simultaneously confronted direct instances of stigma that were a part of their personal and professional lives, sometimes concealing their sex work histories during the course of their professional support and advocacy work. As a result of this concealment, and because of how sex workers are sometimes mistreated, experts experienced stigma vicariously (indirectly) when their own sex work histories were not apparent. As a result of these experiences, participants became proficient at managing discrediting information about themselves when in the presence of those they mistrusted. They supported sex workers through stigmatising ordeals by using knowledge gained from these intersecting direct and vicarious experiences stigma, continuously building capacity within themselves and among other sex workers to resist stigma.

Objective: To determine if an anxiety dimension in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) could be identified in a sample of pregnant women with high social risk factors. Method: Four hundred women attending prenatal outreach programs, most of whom were single, low-income, and Aboriginal, participated in a study of feelings in pregnancy. The primary outcome measure was the EPDS. Data were also collected on sociodemographic, obstetrical–biological, psychological, and behavioural variables. Results: Factor analysis of the EPDS revealed 3 factors: anxiety, depression, and self-harm. The anxiety factor accounted for the greatest variance in the overall EPDS score. Comparisons of different groups of women revealed significantly more anxiety in the women aged under 19 years, compared with those over 25 years ( P < 0.01). Linear regression analysis showed anxiety was associated with age, stressors (that is, pregnancy, health of the baby, birth of the baby, money, and other), history of depression, and fluctuating moods. Conclusions: Anxiety symptoms were predominant in the emotional distress identified by the EPDS in this sample of socially high-risk pregnant women. Younger women appear to experience the highest levels of anxiety. Anxiety in pregnancy in socially high-risk women should not be normalized. Objectif: Déterminer si la dimension de l'anxiété à l'échelle de dépression postnatale d'Édimbourg (EPDS) pouvait être identifiée dans un échantillon de femmes enceintes ayant des facteurs de risque sociaux très élevés. Méthode: Quatre cents femmes assistant à des programmes prénataux de service d'approche, dont la plupart étaient célibataires, à faible revenu, et autochtones ont participé à une étude de sentiments durant la grossesse. La principale mesure des résultats était l'EPDS. Les données ont été recueillies sur des variables sociodémographiques, obstétrico–biologiques, psychologiques, et comportementales. Résultats: L'analyse factorielle de l'EPDS a révélé 3 facteurs: l'anxiété, la dépression, et l'automutilation. Le facteur anxiété représentait la plus grande variance dans le score global à l'EPDS. Les comparaisons de différents groupes de femmes ont révélé significativement plus d'anxiété chez les femmes de moins de 19 ans, comparativement à celles de plus de 25 ans ( P < 0,01). L'analyse de régression linéaire indiquait que l'anxiété était associée à l'âge, aux stresseurs (c'est-à-dire, la grossesse, la santé du bébé, la naissance du bébé, l'argent, et d'autres), aux antécédents de dépression, et aux humeurs changeantes. Conclusions: Les symptômes d'anxiété étaient prédominants dans la détresse émotionnelle identifiée par l'EPDS dans cet échantillon de femmes enceintes socialement à risque élevé. L'anxiété durant la grossesse chez les femmes socialement à risque élevé ne devrait pas être normalisée.