Christian Group Responds to Ipswich Prostitute Murders

|PIC1|The National Christian Alliance on Prostitution (NCAP) has issued a response to the confirmed murders of three prostitutes in Ipswich as police announced the discovery of two more bodies on Tuesday prompting fears that a "ripper"-style serial killer is at large in the area.

Police said they now believed that five sex workers had been found dead in the last ten days as they continue hunting a possible serial killer targeting prostitutes. All five of the women were known to the NCAP, a collaborative network of over 40 projects which work to provide routes out to men and women involved in prostitution in the UK.

As the murders continue to generate enormous national interest, the NCAP appealed to the media to avoid stigmatising the women victims in its reportage of the murders.

"All too often we read 'prostitute murdered' and in doing so take a step away from the fact that first and foremost they are women, daughters, sisters, partners and friends," it said in a press release Tuesday.

The charity expressed its deep concern over the level of violence to people involved in street prostitution in the UK but opposed calls from the English Collective of Prostitutes to decriminalise prostitution in the wake of the murders.

"With high levels of violence, abuse and exploitation involved there is no guarantee that this will improve safety and we would instead promote increased choices for vulnerable women and also moves to address demand," it said.

Mark Wakeling, director of the NCAP said, "Increasingly in society we are seeing the responsibility being placed upon the consumer to ensure their purchases do not lead to exploitation. Here is a prime example of where it is essential that people who purchase sex reflect upon the vulnerability of the people involved."

The charity welcomed the government's commitment to prevention of entry, accelerated routes out, justice for victims and tackling demand but added that it was essential that extra resources be made available to projects to ensure support to those seeking a route out.

NCAP affiliated projects work with over 4,000 individuals involved in street prostitution, including Ipswich, and all five of the women in question were known to the Ipswich Project.

The charity has been an active part of the government's "Paying the Price" consultation and has worked with the Home Office following this.

The Bridge Project in Ipswich, which had contact with the women, have said, "We have been very saddened by the deaths of the women we had befriended in Ipswich and are obviously concerned for those still working on the streets. We are committed to being available for the women and helping them in any way we can to improve their personal situations."