In Memory of the Yorkshire Ripper.

Issues surrounding prostitution have recently been headline news in Sheffield, UK. With a degree in Law and 8 years experience as the proprietor of a busy massage parlour in this city, Madam X has unique insight in this clandestine area. MPs and Ministers advocating change in this area claim to have consulted widely but clearly have done no such thing. Madam X feels it is a great pity that persons such as her have never been interviewed or consulted for their knowledge and experience by the local or national authorities. This interview gives her the opportunity to air her views.

Angry Cheese: Did you enter the sauna business with your degree?

Madam X: Yes, I couldn't have studied while running the place. The degree came first, then the sauna. Actually, it was having some knowledge of law that gave me the confidence to set it up.

AC: Why this business?

MX: I studied as a mature student, but there are too many graduates chasing too few, decent jobs in Britain these days. It soon became obvious to me that obtaining a placement in a Law firm was going to be difficult, elusive - and I couldn’t wait. The sauna and massage scene in Sheffield seemed busy and lively, I had serious family problems and needed to earn decent money straight away so I took a chance and set up my own parlour.

AG: Do you still own it?

MX: No.

AG: Now, there has been controversy in Sheffield recently. An Eastern European woman has been jailed for people-smuggling and slavery. Young, illegal-alien girls have been rescued in raids on brothels across the city and several MPs have voiced strong opinions on these issues, talking about changes in the Law etc. What is your take on all of this?

MX: Where do I start? It is a total mess!

AG: Have things changed over the years since you first got involved?

MX: Oh yes, very much. It’s gone downhill actually, if you want my honest opinion. People have meddled. Busybodies have interfered and done more harm than good. I am angry about it because a system that worked has been removed and the changes are ridiculous. The people behind the changes, MPs and so-called experts, are pig- ignorant, they are lazy and haven’t bothered to find out about the history of this area. Or talk to the people involved.

AG: Go on, please.

MX: Ok. Well, you know about Ian Sutcliffe – The Yorkshire Ripper. Most of his victims were around Leeds but the whole of South Yorkshire and this area were affected by him, in the early ‘70s. Actually I studied him in my law degree and Professor Green, the Home Office Pathologist who was involved in the investigation at a high level, gave us an excellent lecture on the Ripper Investigation, with forensic photos that the public have never been allowed to see. Professor Green was living in the Sheffield area himself and had young daughters at the time and told us how difficult it was back then. Fathers in Sheffield were having to escort their daughters to every disco and party, women of all ages even elderly women were afraid to go out in the daytime, even shopping, on their own. Although the Ripper seemed to be targeting street prostitutes, everyone was frightened. Did you know that Sutcliffe was actually caught and arrested in Sheffield?

AG: No, I didn’t know that.

MX: Yes, and that is the reason why, afterwards, the council and police in Sheffield took a more relaxed line towards the setting up of saunas and massage parlours feeling that, if women had to work as prostitutes, they were better off indoors where there are lights and other people around. Rather than working alone in dark streets. Also, it’s more healthy because they and the punters can wash and take showers, and so on. It’s more civilised.

AG: So, after the Yorkshire Ripper the authorities were more relaxed?

MX: I don’t know personally because I’m not from Sheffield but this is what I have been told by a number of people over the years, including policemen. This is how the scene developed, in the light of the Ripper murders. A few saunas/parlours were tolerated while the area heaved a sigh of relief and recovered slowly from the horror of it all. Getting back to normal. Most people thought the saunas were a good idea!

Anyway, when I set up my parlour I was surprised to received a letter from Sheffield City Council after a few months, telling me I needed to apply to them for a Cinematic License if I had TVs or was showing films on the premises. I didn’t know about this.

AC: A Cinematic License?

MX: Yes, it was a shock but I had to do it, and then it made sense.

AC: Please, go on.

MX: Well I had to pay £180.00 to the Council and fill in some forms. In return they arranged an inspection date. Officers from the Council came to the premises on that date with Police Officers and Fire Officers. They inspected the premises from top to bottom, inside and out. The Council Officials covered cleanliness, laundry, the bathroom, rubbish-disposal, and things like that. The firemen looked at safety issues, fire-escapes, smoke alarms, fire-doors and so on. I had to show valid gas boiler and electrical inspection certificates and a TV License. The police just took my details, looked around and familiarised themselves with the place and informed me that if I ever had any trouble they could be with me within 5 minutes.

AC: Really? That’s good.

MX: Yes. I had to comply with their recommendations, about replacing a fire-door and having a security light installed. I had a couple of weeks to do this, then rang them back and arranged for an officer to check the work was done. They reported, and then a few weeks later my license turned up. I put it in a frame and displayed it on the premises for clients to see.

AC: Really? Amazing! You were proud of it?

MX: Yes, and it had to be reapplied for every year. The Council sent out reminders, and we’d go through the whole thing again. It was nothing to do with films actually but it was a device whereby they could look around the place and I was motivated to have a spring clean, and keep it nice. That license meant a lot to me because I could refer to it in advertising, on my website. I did not want to do anything or allow anything to jeopardise it. As long as I behaved, that license meant I would not be raided, if there had been a problem or a complaint we would have discussed it, in a civilised way. There never was, by the way. I had a strict “no drugs” policy, too. In fact, after the first visit, the police never came back! The council officers said that the police told them they were not coming anymore because they never had any trouble with my place so what was the point?

AC: Amazing, so they approved of you then?

MX: Well, I don’t know about that. Maybe!

AC: So, how does it work then? On a day-to-day basis?

MX: Well, my parlour was in a residential area so I was always aware that it would be foolish to upset the neighbours. The building was very discreetly set out with a nondescript name, in fact many people thought it was just an office! This suited customers and girls because they could enter and leave without feeling embarrassed.
I don’t know how other sauna owners organise their financial arrangements but in my place I was very careful. I took a small, daily fee from each woman for use of the premises. This was like a reasonable rent and went towards heating, lighting, the facilities and adverts, things like that. They paid nothing else.
I also charged an entrance fee to customers and an extra fee for use of a VIP room which was just a slightly larger, nicer room. What the woman and client did in a room, and what money changed hands was private, and of no concern to me. That is how I avoided ever being accused of any impropriety. It worked. It was a registered business and I paid full tax on my earnings too! Not many people in this line do, you know? I even had an accountant!

AC: How did you recruit staff?

MX: I didn’t much. Women would always be phoning up for shifts so if I had space I would take them on. If they liked it they stayed and got more shifts, if not, they moved elsewhere. I did not employ them. They were self-employed and had to make their own arrangements with tax and insurance, etc. They are always very reluctant to give personal details – even their real name!

AC: What kind of people were they, or are they?

MX: The girls, or the customers?

AC: Well, both.

MX: A complete mixture. The women are any age from 18-60, mature women are actually very popular. If a girl seemed young I would ask for her birth certificate or passport to show she was 18. Mostly British girls, some Oriental, a few West Indian girls and a few Asian girls.

AC: Customers?

MX: A total mix. From 18 – 80. British, foreign, educated, workmen, students, gypsies, businessmen, pensioners, all sorts. I had a room on the ground floor with wheelchair access for disabled people, one guy used to come with his carer! I always treated them with respect and tried to make sure vulnerable types were not taken advantage of. There was often a happy, jolly kind of atmosphere and sometimes lonely men stayed for hours, nearly all day!

AC: Did you come across illegal aliens?

MX: Yes, and that annoys me a lot and I’ll tell you why. But first let me just say this. Around 2003-4, I was told by Sheffield Council that I would not need a new Cinematic License. The old system was being abandoned because new laws were being brought in by New Labour which would affect my business so I had better be ready for change!

Well, I waited for change and guess what? Nothing happened – except Sheffield’s old system was thrown out! I and the other sauna managers in Sheffield were never inspected again!

AC: Really! That’s bad isn’t it? Why did they do that?

MX: I suppose they were waiting for the Government to do something, and they never did!

AC: So what has happened since then?

MX: Well, lots of things really. New establishments began to open around Sheffield with brazen, idiotic names and when you enquired it was not a business premises, just a private house or a flat. They were opening and closing all the time. They were not proper businesses and paid no tax, and because they were never inspected, outrageous rumours of shocking drug use and client muggings started to circulate about them.
The local Newspaper seemed to be changing its policy around this time too. It had always had rather a strict attitude to the wording of ads. in its “Sauna and Massage” section but suddenly it was permitting silly, suggestive names and allowing words like “mistress” “madam” “cp” “strict” “busty” etc. Previously, this kind of thing would have been banned.

AC: So the climate changed, so to speak? In early 2000?

MX: Oh, definitely! New Labour meddled and it all went pear-shaped! It had been discreet, but the Sheffield sauna scene was getting seedy.
Around this time girls had begun to appear from the eastern European countries, too. I would get phone calls from foreign-sounding men offering me girls for massage work. That had not happened before. I always replied that if a woman wanted a job they would have to come themselves and I could not arrange anything through a third party. These men even called at the entrance to the premises, a couple of times, with girls and I had to say “no thanks” and send them away.

AC: So they would have been illegals then?

MX: Yes, I think so. But what could I do about it? This New Labour Government is putting women’s lives at risk.

AC: In what way? How?

MX: They keep whining on about under-age girls and trafficked women. Obviously, these are very bad things and they need to be stopped. But the Government should tighten up on immigration. It is their lax immigration policy that has caused the problem, if every child and young person coming here was scrutinised and records properly kept the problem could be controlled. This Government is totally clueless!
This is where the system absolutely stinks.
A young lady in her 20s from Zimbabwe illegally, contacted me for work and I gave her a shift, she had a couple of friends so I gave them all a shift. Because they were here illegally they found it hard to find legitimate work. Two of them eventually drifted off to do nurse-training and to be able to stay legally as students, then the last one eventually decided to do the same. They were all grateful to me for the chance to earn, I do not think I exploited them, I believe I helped them when nobody else would. They earned good money and it helped them through a rough patch.
Then some Thai girls started turning up at my place asking for shifts because an unlicensed brothel in Sheffield, where they had been working, had been raided and they had run away. I felt sorry for them and offered them work but, before they could start, police and immigration officers visited me and put me straight about giving work to illegal girls. I could get into trouble, my place could be raided, I could end up in court and I could be fined big-style, etc.
These officers, two quiet guys and a stroppy, young hag, were going all around Sheffield warning every sauna and massage place of the big trouble we would all be in if we helped illegal, vulnerable, foreign girls! Can you see my point, here?

AC: Yes, I think so because they are forcing the women out of clean, safe places onto the street or into a grubby, druggy flat.

MX: Yes, precisely, you get it but New Labour don’t! They are totally reversing the safety policy that evolved in Sheffield after the Reign of the Yorkshire Ripper. It is totally Hegelian, they say it is for safety and they are improving things while they interfere, bugger-up big style and spoil tolerant systems that have worked well! They are lunatics!

AC: Wow, that’s really stupid!

MX: Very! In my opinion.

AC: Is there anything else you have learned from this business? Or any other comment you want to make?

MX: I’ll try to keep it brief. But there are a number of things actually, and I am afraid they are not very PC either!

AC: Fire away, please.

MX: I am going to read from some notes I have made:

There are many women in the sex industry who enjoy sex, want lots of money and would not change to a different job if you offered it to them on a plate! They might say all the “right things” out of shame and to please, but will get straight back into the sex business as soon as the spotlight is off them! And sorry, this applies to many foreign women too!

There are many women in the sex industry who come to this country illegally in the full knowledge of what is involved, and who lie when caught!

There are many women in the sex industry who are lazy, cannot get up in the morning, cannot get to appointments on time, cannot be bothered, who could not hold down a proper job in the real world for 5 minutes! They exist, I have met them!

There are many women in the sex industry who are hopeless with money and live chaotic, unstructured lives, and like it that way! You would not believe the hundreds of thousands of untaxed money these women lose, waste, gamble and give away!

The problems of Drugs, Illegal Aliens and Trafficked People are NOT sex industry problems.
They are Bad-Government Problems, they are Cultural Issues, they are Immigration Issues, they are Welfare Issues, they are Crime Problems, they are Security Issues, they are Police Problems, they are Customs and Excise Problems, they are International Police Problems, they are Social Problems, they are Administration Cock-Up Problems and do not exist in the sex industry alone but can be found in all walks of life, - mainly due to New Labour's gross mis-management of this country for the last 10 years!

Illegal drugs are everywhere, in schools, the workplace, nightclubs, youth clubs, sport, etc.
Illegal aliens are everywhere, in every walk of life,
Trafficked children are slaves in wealthy homes, sweatshops, doing fieldwork, etc.
Not just the sex industry.

If you legalise, or try to monitor this too much you will turn Great Britain into a pimp. The Queen, the Crown will become a pimp. Women will be forced into prostitution because you will have to treat it like any other job and unemployed people will have to work in saunas if no other work can be found for them, or not receive dole money. Do you want a madam coming to your child’s school to teach them about life working in the sex trade? etc. Be very careful!

De-criminalising the brothel definition so that more than one person may work as prostitutes from a flat puts people into direct conflict with Landlord and Tenant legislation. Violating the terms of a lease, etc. How many lease agreements include a clause covering the conversion of a dwelling into a brothel? How dumb can you get?

Denis MacShane MP has been extremely vocal recently about this subject and sees himself as some kind of self-appointed expert but he needs to try seeing the world from other mens' viewpoints.

www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/01/03/do0302.xml

You may not like the idea of a sauna/massage establishment but for some people at various stages in their lives, it is their only way to have an adult relationship. What about the young paraplegic? War veterans? The lonely, elderly widower? The depressed travelling businessman? The immigrant whose family are all abroad? It is not all about you, and what you want!

Look at the kind of people who are coming into this country now, legally or not. Lets be honest, many of these men are not going to be attractive to British women - some may find partners here, many won't. So what are these young men to do? Realistically, what? If MacShane gets his way and makes the act of a man paying for sex in Britain illegal, I predict more Rippers in the years to come. Bad idea, bad law, bad government.

That’s it!

AC: Thank you very much for this interview. It has been very interesting.

MX: Thank you for giving me a chance to put across my views.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsJuI7OJNuw

www.popmatters.com/pm/columns/article/47481/the-real-mccoy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRIbUT6u7Q

IS THIS BECOMING A HYPOCRITICAL WITCH-HUNT?

Meddling local NuLabour Members of Parliament, very choosy as to whom they consult but nonetheless making numerous statements include:

Caroline Flint, Sheffield, elusive , baby-faced “expert” author of “Paying the Price.”

Denis MacShane, Rotherham http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7269531.stm

Meg Munn, Sheffield (MX’s establishment was actually in her constituency? But she never dropped by!)

David Blunkett, Sheffield, (fond of a non-marital fiddle himself!)

“Fiona McTaggart MP was the last speaker and she told the audience of her long standing commitment against prostitution in any form.” She recently made this statement at the first meeting of:
LAUNCH OF FEMINIST COALITION AGAINST PROSTITUTION,
Monday, 11th FEB. 2008,
at Amnesty International’s UK Human Rights Action Centre.

www.ldnfeministnetwork.ik.com/p_FCAP_Launch.ikml

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/fiona_mactaggart/