INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Annie Emery, Chief Executive Tabz O’Brien, Chair

Since 1991, MASH has been at the forefront of supporting women in and around Greater Manchester who are sex working and who are facing multiple disadvantage.

We were founded as a social justice organisation, starting out as a grassroots, community-led response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. We have continued to support women at the sharpest end of inequalities ever since.

Whilst the nature of sex work, the context in which we operate and the support we provide has changed dramatically over the last thirty years, one thing has remained constant:

Our work crosses multiple boundaries for instance in location or different types of sex work. Our work straddles many areas that are normally siloed, including;

• Homelessness

• Mental health

• Substance misuse

• Criminal justice

• Asylum and immigration

• Domestic and sexual violence and abuse

• Exploitation

• Trafficking and modern slavery

• Poverty

This ensures that women who access MASH’s diverse services receive holistic, joined-up support. This could be advice and medical support from our in-house nurse, use of our needle exchange or drop-in centre, peer support and/or access to our MASH van that provides on-street assistance directly where women are working.

Women who fall through the gaps, are underserved by mainstream services and face stigma, discrimination and multiple barriers to accessing the support they need.

At MASH, we meet women where they are at and stay with each individual for as long as it takes for them to get to where they want to be.

We believe in choice and empowerment. We focus on the material impact and reality of women’s lives, and how we can work with women to create the change that works for them.

We are committed to becoming an actively anti-racist and trans*inclusive organisation. We are developing an intersectional approach in our support, advocacy and influencing, recognising the complex ways that oppression and disadvantage operate across the lives of sex workers in Greater Manchester and across the UK.

We work with women to tackle and address the root causes of the challenging issues they face, always striving to amplify their voices, experiences and ideas for change.

Over the past few years, we have

• Built even stronger foundations

• Developed new external partnerships

• Grown our team’s capabilities

• Transformed our governance structure

• Responded to the COVID-19 crisis - going beyond business as usual

Driven by the deepening inequalities in society and the poverty and deprivation that comes with them, we have reflected on how we contribute to systems that uphold these inequalities.

The next five years will be a pivotal and transformational time for MASH. We are preparing for an even greater and sustained increase in demand for our support. Not least due to the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the intensification of the cost-of-living crisis. This is compounded by displacement, inequality, deprivation and poverty arising out of global unrest and the climate emergency. We know that these will be most deeply felt by the women we exist to support, who will, more than ever, need non-judgmental, confidential, gender and trauma responsive care, providing safety from a system that is often stacked against them.

To make sure we are fit for the future, we have undertaken the most comprehensive consultation exercise ever at MASH with internal and external stakeholders. From this, we know that we need to strengthen the support we provide, increase our reach, amplify the voices of women we support, influence change and create a progressive and inclusive organisational culture. The stakes have never been higher.

So please join us by Going Above and Beyond for Women in Greater Manchester.