Our Hungarian interpreter, Zuzana, and Romanian interpreter, Corina, are vital to the running of our outreach services.
The language barrier with the European women makes it harder to build a positive relationship with the women, particularly if they aren’t sure who we are or that we are offering support; they also may see us as an authority figure which can have a negative connotations for them. By having the interpreters on board we are able to have open conversations with the women, this has enabled us to build trust with women who are further marginalised from society. We are able to identify any needs they may have and offer appropriate support for those needs. None of this would be possible without the interpreters.
The interpreters also translate the dodgy punter report which provides crucial safety advice for the women by informing them of incidents on the beat.
Sophie, Outreach Worker
We can’t thank them enough for all of the work they do weekly on the van, helping us in harm-reduction to keep women who sex work safer in Manchester.