Experimenting With Legal Prostitution In Holbeck, Leeds: One Of Britain's Most Deprived Areas

From 2014 to 2020, Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire police designated parts of Holbeck, one of the UK's most deprived inner-city areas, as a site for an experiment with legal street prostitution. The policy permitted men to cruise the area for vulnerable women struggling with addiction and pay to sexually abuse them with impunity. What followed was an extreme drop in the quality of life of local residents, as well as continued violence against women by buyers, including at least one murder of a woman named Daria Pionca. After sustained effort, 7 years later, residential and feminist activists managed to get the policy revoked. Here is that story as told by feminist journalist, Belstaffie (https://x.com/Belstaffie), read by Elly Arrow.Sources:https://uncommongroundmedia.com/holbeck-managed-approach-drowning-not-swimming/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/life-road-squirming-residents-see-25290708https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-57487062https://taz.de/Strassenprostitution-in-Berlin/!5634823/https://dieunsichtbarenmaenner.wordpress.com/menu/Images:Holbeck Moor Road, Holbeck; Leeds and Holbeck After Dark by Steve PartridgeBuilding on a corner site, Holbeck Lane, Leeds by Humphrey BoltonEntrance to City Life development, Springwell Road by Stephen Craven St Matthews Community Centre by Philip BarkerAll other images by Belstaffie