L EED S RED L I G H T D I ST R I C T First introduced in October 2014, it is now official that Leeds has its own "Red Light District" in Holbeck, minutes away from the City Centre. The zone was introduced for sex workers to abide by the rules, as police were failing to reduce the levels of prostitution themselves. Sex work can become very aggressive and violent, since policing the area complaints by the locals have fallen and supposedly everything is more under control than ever before, as the women are more comfortable speaking to authorities about harassment or crimes. Sex workers are allowed to operate between 7pm -
7am without fear of being arrested, as long as they stay within specific areas. The problem is that the areas have no CCTV, are dimly lit and the sex workers essentially have no protection. This is why the 'District' is yet to be flawless process, on the 23rd of December 2015, Daria Pionko was viciously attacked whilst working and died from what proved to be fatal injuries. Daria was left unconscious on Springwell Road and although the culprit, 24-year-old, Lewis Pierre was found and charged with murder, it is easily recognisable that the workers need more protection.
The area in which the sex workers operate is supposedly a "managed" area, yet for a brutal murder to happen, how well managed really is it? Daria Pionko was a 21 year old woman who had come over from Poland to what we can assume to create a better life for herself. For Leeds to openly permit prostitution, at allocated times, then it proper protection should be enforced for the sex workers. Whilst protection for the workers is one issue, protection for the locals is something that should also be considered. Many shop owners in the area have felt --> concerned at the scheme.