Safe housing is vital for women who are exiting sexual exploitation, says Emma Goulds. It’s why the charity she co-founded is partnering with Green Pastures to provide sanctuary for all who need it
London-born Emma Goulds grew up an atheist. Quite impulsively, while studying at the University of Leeds, she had a sudden urge to change degree courses, which led her to China on a second-year placement – a move she now considers Spirit-led.
Within a year she’d became a Christian. “It was the beauty of the place that struck me into realising God was real,” she recalls. However, life took an unexpected turn when Emma became seriously ill, ending up in a hospital in Hong Kong. Following a major operation, she returned back to the UK during the 2003 SARs epidemic. While recovering, she began to visit a number of churches and encountered Jesus in a profound way. It would change the course of her life.
“God had me on a path to encounter incredible women,” she reflects, emphasising how each person has impacted and inspired her with their courage, strength and resilience. One such experience took place when she began volunteering in the chaplaincy of a women’s prison. There she met female prisoners who, she says: “should never, ever, have been behind bars.
“They should have been accessing support to overcome multiple barriers they were facing in their journey out of sexual exploitation,” she says. And that support, Emma believes, begins with safe, affordable accommodation.
A place to call home
“Lack of suitable housing is one of the most significant reasons for entry into sexually exploitative situations and one of the barriers to exit,” she says. “Some of the women I met in prison were self-harming to avoid being released, because life outside meant homelessness, violence and coercion to sell sex.”
Having become involved in outreach projects across some of London’s red-light districts, Emma heard story after story of ‘survival sex’; where women sell sex in return for a sofa, or to cover rent and bills. Some had experienced trafficking for sexual purposes. Others were battling to break free from poverty or violent relationships. There was little help with accommodation beyond short-term refuges. “When we consider the concept of choice when it comes to selling sex, it’s not a simple option, like whether to have porridge or toast for breakfast,” Emma explains. “Deciding between homelessness or selling sex for a roof over your head isn’t a real choice.”
Around this time, Emma began to pray with a colleague, Jenny Walker, a specialist therapist working with sexual trauma. The pair shared a passion for supporting and empowering women to see them free from sexual exploitation and, as they prayed together, a dream slowly emerged.
Deciding between homelessness or selling sex for a roof over your head isn’t a real choice
“We went out for lunch, and had an unexpected moment,” Emma smiles. “We felt the Holy Spirit say ‘now’. So, we put pen to paper, and our visions were so similar. We knew God was in it.” They were adamant that the dream to see women supported and empowered began with safe housing.
After five years of research, consultation and prayer, in 2019 Emma and Jenny gathered a team and secured their first one-bedroomed flat, supported by a single church partnership. “That first phase was a long process. We consulted women with lived experiences of sexual exploitation, charities already working in the field, and pulled apart our vision. We wanted our project to be a sanctuary – a safe physical place – where each woman could reconnect with herself and begin the long, courageous journey out of sexual exploitation and into a future where she could fully thrive. It was a lot of work, and a lot of faith – and it involved growing a team with a wide variety of skills.”
Restoring the ruins
Finally, Orchards was born. It offers safe housing and counselling for women. Their work is inspired by Isaiah 61:4: “They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.”
Emma still remembers the day the first woman moved into the one-bedroom flat provided by Orchards. “Susan (not her real name) had been in a survival sex situation. She feared for her life and was facing homelessness. But we were able to provide a place she could call home for a year.”
After a year of weekly in-house counselling, Susan began to process some of the trauma she had experienced. She accessed work placements, training courses and debt support through partner organisations and also met regularly with a local church volunteer where she had the opportunity to explore faith. “Susan’s voice shaped our service,” says Emma. “And towards the end of her stay, she began praying for the next woman to move in.”
The vision to offer single-occupancy, safe accommodation alongside free counselling and holistic support continues, and the charity is growing. “We are working across multiple locations with churches of many denominations,” she says. “We have helped churches to walk alongside survivors, providing training on sexual exploitation and creating relational bridges to supportive communities where women can explore faith. There is such gold to be found when we learn from the women we work with and see the beautiful resilience they display.”
Orchards now works collaboratively with the NHS, police, local authorities and secular support providers. Within a growing housing crisis, their work has become more needed than ever.
“We are seeing worrying increases in sexual exploitation in places such as university campuses and among women with undiagnosed neurodiversity, as well as new forms of exploitation online. Sexual exploitation happens in every town and city in the UK, and we have more referrals for our housing and counselling services than we can respond to.
“We started with one woman, one flat and one church partner,” says Emma. “Now, we have safe housing and counselling that reaches women right across the UK. But we still say it’s worth it for that one.”
Orchards and Green Pastures have partnered together to provide safe housing for women who have experienced sexual exploitation. For more information see orchardsuk.org and greenpastures.co.uk
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