About us

We are a partnership between Manchester Action on Street Heath, Manchester Rape Crisis and Trafford Rape Crisis working closely with Dr Kate Cook and Becky Clarke at MMU.

MASH

Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH) has supported the health and safety of female sex workers (women in prostitution) in Greater Manchester for over 25 years.

MASH was originally focused on harm-reduction, but MASH’s support has developed into a fully holistic package that enables women to take control of their lives and make long-lasting changes.

MASH services are delivered in partnership with a range of voluntary and statutory organisations including Greater Manchester Police, Drug and Alcohol Services, NHS Provision, Homelessness providers and other women’s organisations.

MASH Caseworkers provide intensive, individual, planned support particularly in relation to substance misuse, homelessness, mental illness, financial difficulties, and the criminal justice system. They also offer specialist support to women who have suffered rape or sexual assault.

MASH provide a range of support and activities at the MASH Drop-In Centre including needle exchange, condom distribution, life skills, hot meals, therapeutic activities, education, and counselling.

MASH also provide Street Outreach from the MASH Van three evenings a week, offering needle exchange, condoms, attack alarms, safety information and routes into emergency accommodation. We engage with women to encourage them to access services.

And have a nurse who delivers a full sexual health service at the Drop-In Centre and carries out Sauna Outreach to women working in massage parlours (brothels).

MASH has an excellent record of influencing policy and practise and of ensuring the needs of our beneficiaries are recognised. MASH are founder members of the Manchester Prostitution Forum; sit on a number of key bodies including the sexual violence MARAC, CSE strategic group, and the Greater Manchester Sexual Health Network.

An Independent Sexual Violence Advisor who provides information and support to women who are considering reporting their experience to the police and who can support survivors as they go through the criminal justice system

A Well-being worker who provides information and support on issues such as debt or housing; problems which can impede the psychological recovery of survivors

A drop in group where socially isolated women can meet for lunch, activities and informal support

A gardening group

A signposting service for male survivors – MRC works closely with a local service for male survivors of sexual violence.

TRC

Trafford Rape Crisis (TRC) is a women-only feminist collective established in 2010 which provides free, confidential and long-term support services for women and girls who have suffered any form of sexual violence, rape or unwanted sex, no matter where or when this happened.

Our goal is to empower survivors of sexual violence to cope with the legacy of abuse and help them make positive changes in their lives.

Thirty five highly trained volunteers run our helpline and email services. We offer six helpline sessions per week, including a helpline for Black, Asian, Minoritised Ethnic (BAME) women, run by BAME volunteers. A dedicated team of volunteers provides one-to-one email support, and we also run weekly drop-in sessions from our centre. We partner with Manchester Rape Crisis to provide face-to-face counselling for local survivors in Trafford.

Dr Kate Cook

Dr Kate Cook is a senior lecturer in law at who specialises in research about rape, child sex abuse and domestic abuse. She has worked Manchester Law School, Manchester Metropolitan University and has been an activist within the rape crisis movement for the past 27 years.

Her current projects include work on undocumented migrant women experiencing violence, the impact of revelations about historic cases of child abuse and the role of advocates in court.

Becky Clarke

Becky Clarke is a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology Department at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Her research interests include the gendered and racialised experiences of penal and welfare policies, processes of ‘othering’ and criminalisation, and the construction of knowledge (and ignorance).