2019 marked Ruhama’s thirtieth year in existence. This milestone was celebrated at the Royal College of Surgeon’s in November through a successful and quite cutting edge conference on ‘The Sexual Violence of Prostitution and Pornography’. Since it's foundation in 1989, Ruhama has supported thousands of women from over 60 nationalities. At the core of our work is the provision of direct, frontline services to women who require support. We also work at a national and international level to influence and shape the development and implementation of broader policies and legislation which tackle sexual exploitation, and ultimately enhance the lives of women affected by the global sex trade. During the year a number of services were consolidated and strengthened to ensure that they could provide more comprehensive and integrated care to align with our strategic priorities and objectives. Some roles were reconfigured to ensure we had the right staff with the right skills to meet the organisation’s mission.

A number of women enter prostitution as a direct result of addiction and substance misuse. Many others develop issues with substance misuse in order to cope with their experience in the sex trade. In 2019, 69% of the women we engaged with in street outreach reported issues related to the use of drugs and/or alcohol, with many reporting polydrug use.