Basis Yorkshire Ltd

Who we are

Basis provides support to:

• Sexworkers living and/or working in Leeds 
• Women and young people experiencing sexual abuse and exploitation

The team work to Basis’ organisational values, taking a rights-based approach and provide evidence-based services to enable and empower service users to make informed choices. The team have an established reputation for providing high quality, effective safety advice, information and support, enabling safer working practices. 

Our culture and values

Basis supports those who identify as women  or are non-binary who work in the sex industry and women and young people who are sexually exploited. Our purpose is to empower people to make safer and healthier choices by offering information, support and options. Our work is driven by a sound evidence base, as well as working closely with women and young people to ensure our services are designed and delivered with them, putting their voices and experience at the centre of our work. We challenge stigma and inequality of access to services for everyone we work with.

We are proud to be one of a small number of specialist organisations that explicitly recognise and advocate for women’s right to work more safely when selling sex, while also supporting young people who are sexually exploited to be safer and free from harm. We understand that for some women and young people, their ‘choices’ are severely constrained by a range of factors including physical and mental health, substance use, family circumstances and abusive relationships, as we support them in managing the risks and vulnerabilities they face. We recognise people’s dignity and agency in their decision-making.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Basis Yorkshire is a feminist, rights-based organisation and is committed to being a fair and inclusive employer, providing the best possible service to the people who use our services, to professionals in agencies that we work closely with and to staff and volunteers working for us. Basis Yorkshire commits to ensuring that our culture creates a safe and healthy workplace for all staff, volunteers and Trustees and it is psychologically safe. The purpose of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Policy is to ensure that Basis Yorkshire treats all staff, colleagues in other agencies and service users fairly and in a way that encourages them to feel included in Basis Yorkshire’s activities and goals and to encourage all members of staff to achieve and maintain a high standard of conduct, especially in relation to the treatment of colleagues and service users who may not share their ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, marital status, gender, sex, age group or any other protected characteristic as laid down by legislation. Basis Yorkshire strives for equality and as such if equality is the end goal, equity is the means to get us there.