He explains two of the very distinct problems - those working on the streets and those working in pop-up brothels.

Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, it is an offence to cause or incite prostitution or control it for personal gain. Premises shared with someone else who works on alternate days or weeks will still count as a brothel, even though there is never more than one person working at any one time. But while dealing with illegal brothels is a key focus for GMP, working on the streets is the harsh reality for many sex workers - both men and women. Popa, 30, organised the operation while Diac, 28, acted as a ‘telephone receptionist’ for potential customers from rented houses in Levenshulme, Longsight and Rusholme. Fitlads - Gay Dating, Chat and Forums". 2020-08-10. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10 . Retrieved 2023-11-07.Sammons, Scott (28 May 2015). "REVIEW: The Top 10 Best Gay Dating Apps". The Gay UK . Retrieved 13 January 2022.

DC Nield explains: “A lot of the time we find out about pop up brothels because neighbours don’t want it on their street. The girls working in these premises are looked upon as a problem rather than human beings. Everyone surrounding them hates them because they are causing a problem in the area. With support from Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH) police have managed to help street prostitutes. They’ve had information from people working in dilapidated properties such as carpenters and plasterers - and some of their best successes have come from nosy neighbours.

We need to stress the violence and stigma faced by sex workers who are all really brave, funny, kind women.

We work with a lot of lads in their mid twenties who are out having a great time in the Village, have a home but no job, with high drug and alcohol use and use sex work as something to do,” he says. “They are comfortable with it and happy with it.While they would previously have met men working on the streets to offer advice face to face, they now reach out through instant messaging apps like Whatsapp. Pullen, Christopher; Cooper, Margaret (4 June 2010). LGBT Identity and Online New Media. Routledge. p.293. ISBN 978-1-136-99753-2. The level of vulnerability is extremely high on the street. It’s a very dangerous thing to be doing,” says MASH CEO Cate Allison.