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Decades of research into sex work show that naming johns puts sex workers in danger, Orchard said.

“You’re not going to stop the sex trade. You are just going to create violence,” she said.

Faced with being named, johns will insist on taking sex workers to more isolated or hidden places, lessening the safety of the workers, she said, adding a sex worker facing a declining number of clients will be forced to lower her prices, work longer hours or take greater risks with unknown johns.

These concerns are echoed by SafeSpace London, a collective of sex workers and advocates for the decriminalization of prostitution, prompting it to launch an online petition demanding that police reverse the policy.

SafeSpace is also taking aim at Pare for not meeting any of its members before making the decision.

“You did not consult us, or even consider us worthy of notice this was coming,” the petition on change.org says.

“At a minimum, you would have provided notice to our community so we could have addressed the safety concerns this decision generates. You did none of this.”

Asked whether police consulted with any members of the public prior to announcing the policy change, police responded with a statement from the chief.

“There are conflicting opinions in London and across the country about Canada’s prostitution laws. From a policing perspective, we are responsible for enforcing the existing laws,” Pare said in the statement.

“Our enforcement focus is on those who are victims of traffickers, not those who freely choose to work in the sex trade . . . We regularly release the names of those charged with criminal offences, and, in order to help protect those who are victimized by traffickers, we will release the names of those charged with the criminal offence of purchasing sex.”