This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament
Petition Make sex work a protected characteristic under the Equality Act
The 2010 Equality Act does not include sex workers e.g. escorts, strippers, and porn actors, as a protected characteristic. Former sex workers can be discriminated against at work e.g. teachers may be fired if their past is exposed, despite it not impacting their ability to do their job.
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A large number of sex workers are also women, LGBT+ (particularly transgender), disabled or belong to an ethnic minority. While these characteristics are protected, the fact that a disproportionate amount of sex workers belong to vulnerable groups means that they are still indirectly disadvantaged in the workplace.
For more info on sex work in the UK: http://prostitutescollective.net/
The Equality Act and discrimination:
https://www.gov.uk/discrimination-your-rights/types-of-discrimination
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
96 signatures
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