Claudia Clare: Survivors and Fighters Talk, Fore Street Library, Edmonton, London N18

Fore Street Library, Edmonton, displayed five pots from 'And the Door Opened,' on December 9th 2021. 

I was invited by Cellina Doswell, chair of REACT Edmonton, the local residents association to talk about the project with women@thewell . The area has, in the last three years or so, been targeted by pimps and traffickers who are bringing women into the area and sexually exploiting them as well as targeting local young women and girls for the same treatment. 

Life has become very difficult for people living in the area, especially the women, who are constantly harassed particularly when on their way home in the evenings. 'Fore Street for All,' is a local initiative, a partnership between Fisher Cheng architects, Artist Hive Studios, REACT Edmonton and Enfield Council to 'reclaim the night economy,' and bring people back on to the streets at night. 

Cellina Doswell and REACT are keen to find ways to support the women who are being brought into the sex trade and are interested in finding out more about how that can be done. We desperately need properly funded and resourced support for sexually exploited women and girls in Enfield and Haringey so I'm hoping we may be able to set up a local support and exiting service that can provide the practical solutions to the many interlocking problems that build up for women in this situation. 

And Evening With Women @the Well and Claudia Clare

An Evening with Women@the Well and Claudia Clare. 

Weds Sept 15th, 2021, 6 - 8pm, doors close 9pm. 

6.30 Claudia Clare - artist working with Women @the Well

6.45 Harriet Wistrich - Founder of the Centre for Women's Justice 

6.55 Lynda Dearlove  - CEO Women @the Well 

7.10 A minute's silence ended with the smashing of the pot, 'Brave Face.' 

The evening includes a display of the pots from our joint project, 'And The Door Opened.'  

I will be talking about the pots and the project and the director of W@W will discuss the work they have been doing over the past 18 months and how Covid has affected the women they support. 

About the Project:

W@W is a women-only service located in Kings Cross dedicated to supporting women whose lives are affected - or at risk of being affected - by prostitution. They also offer support to women wishing to exit the sex trade and help them to identify and overcome the barriers that maybe obstructing that process. 

‘And The Door Opened,’ is a collection of pots, made in partnership with W@W, that illustrate the lives of the women they work with, based on accounts provided by the women themselves. Some of the pots represent the accounts of women survivors who have already exited and others are still involved in prostitution. 

The aim is to enhance the public's understanding of what prostitution is and to show that, with the right support, girls and women do not need to live and die exploited in the sex trade – there are ways out.