Basis Yorkshire

Basis supports women who work in the sex industry and women and young people who are sexually exploited. We aim to end stigma, create safety and promote empowerment by offering information and support. Our work is driven by a sound evidence base, as well as working closely with women and young people to ensure our services are designed and delivered with them, putting their voices and experience at the centre of our work. We challenge stigma and inequality of access to services for everyone we work with. We are proud to be one of a small number of specialist organisations that explicitly recognise and advocate for women’s right to work more safely when selling sex, while also supporting young people who are sexually exploited to be safer and free from harm. We understand that for some women and young people, their ‘choices’ are severely constrained by a range of factors including physical and mental health, substance use, family circumstances and abusive relationships, as we support them in managing the risks and vulnerabilities they face. We recognise people’s dignity and agency in their decision-making. We recognise that there are certain groups of people we support who experience greater exclusion and stigma due to discrimination based on race, disability and gender identity among others. We will pro-actively challenge any such exclusion and discrimination. In addition we are in the process of reviewing our governance and other processes to ensure we do not (unconsciously) exclude anyone from accessing or contributing to our services, with a particular focus on people who experience racism.