Manchester Lads: Chav Lawyer: A Journey into Jake's Lust

Product Information

In Manchester, there are several spots known for gay cruising, and it's important to approach these spaces with respect and discretion. Please note that engaging in sexual activity in public places is illegal in the United Kingdom and can result in fines or criminal charges. DC Nield explains: “A lot of the time we find out about pop up brothels because neighbours don’t want it on their street. The girls working in these premises are looked upon as a problem rather than human beings. Everyone surrounding them hates them because they are causing a problem in the area. It’s something that DC Nield agrees with: “We would love to get more intelligence that allows us to help male sex workers but we just don’t get any,” he says. Romanian couple Alexe Popa and Gabriela Diac were last week convicted for operating pop-up brothels around south Manchester and employing Eastern European women as prostitutes. Then there is ‘survival sex’. That’s more the young homeless lad out of prison, or highly addicted, who identifies as straight. They hate it and they hate themselves for doing it but it’s a way of making money. They will likely do a bit of burglary, some drug dealing and a bit of sex work too.”

Kerb-crawling is also banned, providing it can be shown the individual was causing a persistent annoyance. MASH, which supports sex workers across the city, helped 350 women last year. Over the last six months, the charity’s homelessness worker has managed to support 14 women in getting off the street and into housing. Though some of the women are rough sleepers many sofa surf, stay with punters or remain in abusive relationships. Pop up brothels. Survival sex. Slavery. There's a lot more to Manchester's sex trade in 2017 than the calling cards that used to line phone boxes a decade ago.Gay or straight they all have one thing in common, they will easily be able to make money selling their bodies. One particularly startling statistic is that many of these men told charity workers they started doing sex work from as young as 14. Inevitably many of them are in care. He says sex work has always been connected to Manchester gay and cruising scenes and was concentrated around Canal Street, the Undercroft and Tariff Street although that has changed. In the recreation room the conversation is easy and the atmosphere is light thanks to the dedicated volunteers. Many women still work in Manchester’s traditional red light districts behind Piccadilly train station, near Strangeways and along Cheetham Hill Road.

Police know the women by name and look out for them. But if I was to take them around Manchester they would not know who any of the lads are,” he says. While they would previously have met men working on the streets to offer advice face to face, they now reach out through instant messaging apps like Whatsapp. A lot has changed - and this change has brought huge challenges for those who want to protect the vulnerable. Manchester’s homelessness problem is feeding the rise with experts predicting more than two thirds of them have slept rough or lost their home at some point.We work with a lot of lads in their mid twenties who are out having a great time in the Village, have a home but no job, with high drug and alcohol use and use sex work as something to do,” he says. “They are comfortable with it and happy with it. Canal Street, located in the heart of Manchester, is the focal point of the Gay Village. Lined with numerous bars, clubs, and restaurants, it offers a variety of entertainment options for visitors. Some popular venues include Via, G-A-Y, and The New Union.

The level of vulnerability is extremely high on the street. It’s a very dangerous thing to be doing,” says MASH CEO Cate Allison. Fergal McCullough is director of charity The Men’s Room and supports male sex workers through creative engagement, outreach sessions, and advocacy support. Fergal says there is a broad spectrum of male sex workers across the city but there are two common patterns. He explains two of the very distinct problems - those working on the streets and those working in pop-up brothels. They’ve had information from people working in dilapidated properties such as carpenters and plasterers - and some of their best successes have come from nosy neighbours.

One myth is that sex workers can’t be raped. I think it’s still common for people to believe that.” I’ve had people say ‘If I fancy him I won’t charge him’. That’s the reality for a young, out, gay sex worker. Some even see sex work almost as a right of passage. There are also general laws on public nuisance and decency which can be used to target the sex trade. What is a brothel? Popa, 30, organised the operation while Diac, 28, acted as a ‘telephone receptionist’ for potential customers from rented houses in Levenshulme, Longsight and Rusholme. A ‘dodgy punters’ display board - sponsored by charity ‘Ugly Mugs’ - gives details of all the potentially dangerous people who could target sex workers in Manchester.

And contrary to their female counterparts, male sex workers don’t answer to a pimp or work in saunas or brothels. They advertise online. They are hard to trace and even harder to shut down for officers faced with frightened women, who speak limited English and don’t trust the police. Running a brothel, being raped while working as a prostitute, paying for sex - stories from the sex tradeMany, but not all, of these are run by violent and bullying pimps and populated by vulnerable Eastern European women. Manchester’s troubling homelessness problem has led to a rise in so-called ‘survival sex’ where young men, often with drug and alcohol problems, are forced to sell themselves to live. It’s part of a huge increase in male sex workers. Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, it is an offence to cause or incite prostitution or control it for personal gain.