Basis Yorkshire provides Safety, Information and Support to:

• Sexworkers living and/or working in Leeds (female and trans, indoor or on the street)
• Girls and young women experiencing sexual exploitation, those at medium or high risk thereof
• Women in need of support based on their historic experience of CSE.

Basis Yorkshire was set up (as Genesis Leeds) in 1989 by a few volunteers, supporting sexworkers in Leeds. In 1997, a young person’s service was established to accommodate the specific needs of girls and young women who were being sexually exploited (under the name of Isis).

Based on the growing demand for specialist awareness raising workshops in school, training for professionals and resources on the issues addressed by the charity, they set up a separate specialist social enterprise in 2012 (formerly constituted in Jan. 2014) to achieve a wider social impact while generating income for the charity.

In 2015, they were the only organisation in Leeds which secured funding by the Home office for a pilot project to support women how have past experience of CSE.

In 2015, the charity was rebranded as Basis Yorkshire, comprising the following projects:

• Basis Sex Work
• Basis Young People’s Project
• Basis Historic CSE