Sex worker charity head hits out at local paper ‘brothel’ ads

The head of a charity that looks after women trafficked into the sex trade has hit out at local newspapers carrying ads for adult massage parlours or saunas.

Denise Marshall OBE, chief executive of Eaves Housing, said some local papers are directly contributing to the problems created by prostitution by advertising brothels.

Eaves is one of several campaign groups putting pressure on newspaper publishers to stop carrying such adverts.

Marshall told Steve Dyson writing for InPublishing: ‘In London’s local papers, 80 per cent of ads for adult massage parlours or saunas are fronts for brothels, where men can buy sex.

‘Newspaper owners turn a blind eye to this, insisting that they do not advertise anything illegal, while banking their gains from the sex industry.

‘The irony is that local papers are full of articles about the problems caused by or related to prostitution – the blight of kerb-crawling on local neighbourhoods, the increase in drug crime – but they are directly contributing to the problem by advertising brothels.”