The Tory government is acting as pimps: The link between benefit sanctions and prostitution

There is evidence that suggests a link between benefit sanctions and prostitution. For example, a report from the English Collective of Prostitutes documented how cuts to single mothers' benefits have had an impact on the rise in prostitution ³. Additionally, MPs launched an inquiry into "survival sex" where benefit claimants impoverished by universal credit or sanctions have turned to prostitution to pay rent or feed their families ². Source: Conversation with Bing, 4/18/2023 (1) SUBMISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTREME POVERTY .... https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/EPoverty/UnitedKingdom/2018/NGOS/English_CollectiveofProstitutes.pdf. (2) MPs to launch inquiry into ‘survival sex’ by benefit claimants. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/19/mps-to-launch-inquiry-into-survival-sex-by-benefit-claimants. (3) The Impacts of Benefit Sanctions: A Scoping Review of the Quantitative .... https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article/impacts-of-benefit-sanctions-a-scoping-review-of-the-quantitative-research-evidence/9272BC857236795930DCD6AB7B8E04A1. (4) Criminalize vs. Decriminalize Sex Work: The Debate Continues. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-day-slavery/202207/criminalize-vs-decriminalize-sex-work-the-debate-continues.

An AI composes a sonnet blaming successive Tory governments in the UK for benefit sanction deaths

Oh, Tories, how you've caused such needless pain, With policies that hurt the poor and weak, Your cuts and sanctions, each one more insane, Have caused so many tears and so much bleak. The benefit system, once a source of aid, Has become a tool to punish and shame, For those who need it most, it's now a raid, A game that's rigged and stacked in your own name. You claim to care for all, but that's a lie, For those who suffer most, you turn away, Your hearts are cold, your conscience will not pry, You let them die, and then you look away. Oh Tories, how you've caused such needless grief, May history judge you harshly, beyond belief.

Why sanctioning sick and disabled benefit claimants during a pandemic, recession, and banking crisis can be considered immoral

Sanctioning sick and disabled benefit claimants during a pandemic, recession, and banking crisis can be considered immoral for several reasons. Firstly, benefit sanctions are punishment fines whereby claimants’ benefits are docked for at least a month for supposed infringements¹. This can have a negative effect on claimants’ health and finances¹. In fact, DWP staff have admitted to inflicting psychological harm on claimants². Secondly, there is no evidence that benefit sanctions incentivize people to get work¹. A report by the National Audit Office in 2016 found that there was no evidence that sanctions work or that the system is saving the taxpayer money⁵. Thirdly, during a pandemic, recession, and banking crisis, people are already facing financial difficulties. Sanctioning their benefits would only add to their hardship. In conclusion, sanctioning sick and disabled benefit claimants during a pandemic, recession, and banking crisis can be considered immoral because it can harm their health and finances without any evidence of effectiveness. Source: Conversation with Bing, 4/14/2023 (1) DWP ordered to release ‘sensitive’ research into effects of benefit .... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/14/dwp-ordered-to-release-sensitive-research-into-effects-of-benefit-sanctions. (2) DWP staff admit inflicting ‘psychological harm’ on claimants during .... https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-staff-admit-inflicting-psychological-harm-on-claimants-during-coalition-years/. (3) Benefit sanctions are punishing disabled people for the sake of it. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/20/sanctions-disabled-people-claimants-tough-love. (4) Disabled people denied benefit uplift during pandemic because it would .... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/disability-benefit-uplift-universal-credit-dwp-it-system-b1724260.html. (5) Opinion | Disabled Americans Are Losing a Lifeline - New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/opinion/supplemental-security-income-ssa-disability.html.