Frequently asked questions

If we meet you on outreach or you call our office for some brief information, advice or support you can use your working name (or any name you would like to use) and we will not need to take any personal details.

However, if you’d like more support, we would need to take down and record some personal details (eg your name, date of birth, contact details) and any other relevant information in order to support you. This information will be kept on our secure database that only the Charis team have access to.

When we get these details from you we give you an information sheet about how we store people’s personal data and ask you to sign a form to allow us to do so. Feel free to ask us any questions you have about this. You can also request to see our full data protection policy if that would be of interest for you to see.

If you ask us to refer you into another service or speak to an agency on your behalf (such as housing, health or other support services) we will do this only with your signed consent and share only the information that is relevant.

We will only share information without consent if someone is at risk of serious harm.

We will not tell other people (outside of our Charis team) that we have seen you, the location of your work place, or share any information you tell us without your consent.

But, we have a legal duty to take action if:

• We believe you or someone else is at risk of serious harm
• We have serious concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child (someone under 18)

This means if we think someone is at risk, we would talk to services who could help to safeguard you or the person who is at risk. We would always try to speak to you about this first if possible, before speaking to anyone.

Yes, we work with many people who were not born in the UK and English is not their first language.

If you are still learning English and have difficulty understanding us or communicating what you want to say we do have a translation service that we can use.

For some people who contact Charis they just want to chat a couple of times and ask for some practical support and then don't contact us again.

Other people may want more on-going longer term support.

Many people who work in the sex industry are parents. We know that for many parents who are sex workers this can be a worry, and because of that many people worry about whether it is safe to talk to professional organisations or to report dangerous incidents at work to the police.

It is not illegal in England, Wales or Scotland for a consenting adult (age 18 or over) to sell sex, but law around the sex industry is complicated.

Many sex workers are great parents and there will not generally be cause for the local authority to intervene simply because you are a sex worker.

It is your responsibility to arrange for a responsible adult to look after your child/ children when you are working. As long as your child is not at risk of any harm then we, or other organisations you get help from, should have no reason to be concerned and would have no reason to share information about you or your children.

We want to be totally upfront with you though, so thought it might be helpful to say some of the things that we, or another organisation supporting you, may be concerned about and would make a child be seen as at “risk of harm”:

• If a child is living in or staying in the same premises where clients are seen for sexual services, this could raise concerns about the child’s safety or wellbeing
• If there are strangers regularly coming into the child’s home
• If a child is experiencing violence or abuse or is witnessing or hearing violence or abuse
• If a child is at risk of neglect due to being left unattended while you work
• If a child is at risk of neglect or abuse due to carers being under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• If a child is at risk of sexual exploitation, grooming or other forms of sexual abuse
• If a child is being exposed to drug dealing or other illegal activity that could put them at risk

What happens if a Children’s Services referral is made?

Children’s services are there to support families to keep their children happy, safe and healthy and in most cases this means staying in their own home.

The social worker will usually speak to the parent or carer to check that the child is not in danger. They will ensure that the parent or carer has the right help and resources in order to keep their child safe and healthy.

The social worker may decide that there is no need for any further action, or they may refer the parent or their child to other services for support.

The social worker will usually ensure that any services involved with the family work together with the parent and child to support them to address any problems they are experiencing and to enable the parent to make positive changes.