A HEALTHCARE group has won a Star Project award for promoting a scheme to help protect sex workers in Dorset.

The Dorset Working Women’s Project – run by the Dorset HealthCare NHS Trust – was recognised for promoting the National Ugly Mugs Scheme and its six pillars of good practice.

To receive the Star Project award from the National Ugly Mugs Scheme, the Dorset HealthCare team had to demonstrate six pillars of good practice.

They include taking leaflets on outreach visits, displaying promotional material at drop-in centres and raising awareness among local establishments.

Alex Bryce, manager of the National Ugly Mugs scheme, said: “Due to their hard work and good practice it is our pleasure to award the trust with Star Project accreditation.

“Only a handful of projects have qualified for this award and the success of the scheme is down to the hard work of all those involved, from the individual sex workers to the Trust’s outreach workers and team of volunteers.”

The Working Women’s Project is an HIV prevention and sexual health project working locally with women in Dorset who sell sex, particularly those who also misuse drugs and alcohol. It has been operating its own Dodgy Punter scheme for 16 years and has been successful in supporting Dorset Police with convictions against men who have targeted sex workers.

In July 2012, the National Ugly Mugs pilot scheme was launched in Manchester encouraging sex workers to share intelligence with police.

The Dorset Working Women’s Project will run the new Ugly Mugs scheme alongside to complement its existing Dodgy Punter scheme. It allows sex workers to report incidents to a central national point if they feel reluctant to report directly to police.

Trust care

DORSET HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust provides community health services, mental health, learning disability, addictions, community brain injury, community dental, and some primary care services, across the county.

Community health services include district nurses, health visitors, school nursing, end of life care, sexual health promotion, safeguarding children, diabetes education, audiology, speech and language therapy, dermatology, podiatry, orthopaedic, prison health care, wheelchair services, breastfeeding support and runs community hospitals.