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Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Alex Feis‐BryceDirector of Services National Ugly Mugs www.uglymugs.orgEmail: [email protected]
National Ugly Mugs
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
A reminder: why we need NUM
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
If they had intended to hurt you they would have done it by now.
Response to a woman who reported being robbed by two women who threatened her with violence
What do you expect advertising on those sites like that? He’s kept you
there a week and took your money – it’s like paying rent
Response to woman who was abducted and repeatedly raped
What you did was prostitution
Response to a woman when reporting a serious violent sexual assault before categorising the assault as a non‐crime.
It’s not worth reporting formally as it would involve a lot of paperwork
Response to a woman who was attacked by two men who pulled a coat over her head beat her up, stole her bag and attempted to sexually assault her.
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
“I don’t want any police contact as I have no faith in the police anymore after their response.”
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
How it works
A mechanism for sex workers or health and social care support services to report incidents directly via the website, the phone app or to the National Ugly Mugs Team.
NUM then produces sanitised alerts to warn sex workers of dangerous individuals. Projects and health providers also use these alerts to warn their service users or members.
The alerts can be received:‐• By e‐mail or SMS message• Through the website• Through the phone app
With victim consent intelligence is shared anonymously with the Serious Crimes Analysis Section (SCAS) to help bring perpetrators of crimes against sex workers and other people to justice. NUM also acts as an intermediary between police and sex workers.
1. Reporting and Recording System 2. Production & Circulation of Alerts
3. Sharing information with the police and Serious Crimes Analysis Section (SCAS)
Incident/Attack
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Total reports: 1199
Total members: 2563
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Total Individuals:
2108
Total Projects: 341
Total Establishments: 114
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Yorks. & Humber
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Leeds
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Reporting to Police
In June 2013, only 6% of sex workers in W.Yorks reporting to NUM were willing to make a full report to police.
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
NUM regularly results in the apprehension and conviction of violent
serial offenders.
“One of my clients was raped, beaten, kept prisoner for 2 days. Without the support from the dedicated staff and the NUM sharing of information the perpetrator would not have been apprehended. Police believed he would have committed crimes and become more violent. Thankfully he was quickly apprehended and was given life sentence with the recommendation he serve 25 years very good outcome.”(Third sector agency)
Criminal Justice outcomes
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
A NUM conviction
• Christina, a London escort, was raped at knife point by a client in April 2013.
• She didn’t report to police but was plagued by nightmares and flashbacks.• She disclosed to an Open Doors NHS nurse who immediately reported this
to NUM.• NUM shared the intelligence anonymously with police.• The police asked for NUM and Open Doors to act as intermediaries to
assist identifying the offender.• Eventually, Christina decided that she wanted to report the incident
formally.• Dale Brown was arrested and charged with rape.• March 2014: Brown found guilty of rape and sentenced to 10 years in
prison in.
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
A health outcome
• A sex worker reported a violent assault to NUM.• Information about this incident was passed to police
anonymously.• Police informed NUM that they had identified the offender and
that they believed that he had TB.• NUM contacted the local sex work support service to obtain
information about whether this was something they could deal with.
• Woman was contacted and given information about their local sex work support service.
• The woman had a positive diagnosis which was then quickly treated.
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Outcomes
NUM has referred 209 sex workers to health and social
care providers.
55% of organisations and 63% of sex
workers felt they were more likely to report incidents to
the police.
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Feedback
SexWorker
Regardless of the TB outcome, massive thanks to @NationalUglyMugfor helping to nab the bad guy, and letting me know he was ill <3
2 hours ago
Tweet
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
“I work as an escort and signed up to National Ugly Mugs and I have to say it has saved my life. I arranged business with a client, he was waiting in a car and [the number plate matched one] I had previously been given the majority of via text from NUM [which] said he was violent and robbed the girls. Because he hadn’t seen me I walked away… a lucky escape.”(Female escort)
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Awards and recognition
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Spot Del and Rosie…
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Funding
• Despite our success, we face a constant battle for funding.
• It costs around £120,000 per year to run the scheme –about the same as the cost to investigate a single rape.
National Ugly Mugs Fighting Stigma, Saving Lives
Thanks for listening
@NationalUglyMug
