On the day between International Women’s Day (Letters, 9 March) and Mothering Sunday, BBC2 allowed us to see again that wonderful film Made in Dagenham. Ford threatens Barbara Castle that if she gives in to the Dagenham women, the firm might take its business elsewhere, with the loss of thousands of jobs. After talking to the women, Castle says: “I think that’s a risk we’re going to have to take.” The result of her being willing to take that risk was the Equal Pay Act. Why cannot we say that now to the bankers, who are holding this country to ransom? It is sometimes necessary to take risks in the pursuit of justice.
Mary Brown
Stroud, Gloucestershire

• It was terrible to read about the plight of the Somali rape victim Lul Ali Osman Barake (‘I was a victim of rape – but I was put in jail, not my attackers’, 8 March). However, it is worth keeping in mind that there are still women facing similar struggles closer to home. Sex workers are 12 times more likely to be murdered than any other women in the UK. Yet my report, Silence on Violence, found evidence that sex workers in London are increasingly less willing to report crimes against them.

As a result, gangs are escalating attacks. Why aren’t women reporting crimes? Because when they do, police are seen to prioritise laws against brothels above the crimes committed against the women. When it comes to policing around sex work, we can’t just keep on doing what we have done before, because it’s not working.
Andrew Boff
Leader, Conservative group, London assembly