Jack the Ripper Intimacy Kit
• Amorous Capitalism , • Sex Crime , • Sex Workers
The London Dungeon has sparked outrage among prostitute welfare groups for selling novelty Jack the Ripper condom sets.
The "Jack the Ripper Intimacy Kit" includes two condoms, lubricating jelly and two antiseptic towelettes.
The towelettes are labelled "for professional and hospital use only".
They are being sold at the London Bridge tourist attraction's Shop of Horrors, alongside other memorabilia of the serial killer such as T-shirts and ashtrays.
On the front of the kit is the slogan "Because you never know who's coming around the corner".
But critics say making a joke of the brutal murders is bad taste, particularly in light of the recent conviction of "Camden Ripper" Anthony Hardy.
Diane Martin, project manager of sex workers' support group Trust and chairwoman of Lambeth's Prostitution Action Group, said: "The phrase 'Because you never know who's coming around the corner' is all too true, as recently highlighted by the brutal murders in Camden.
"Maybe those profiting from these Jack the Ripper kits would ask the families whose daughters have been chopped up and placed in a bin bag - or beaten so badly they could only be identified from dental records - how they feel about their product.
"We are continually appalled at the level of sexual violence our clients regularly experience.
"Like Jack the Ripper, many men feel these women will not be missed and do not matter."
Michelle Farley, manager of Sexual Health on Call, a project for sex workers, said: "It is unacceptable to juxtapose the name of a notorious murderer who terrorised women with condoms that promote safer sex.
"This kind of gimmick sends out the wrong message."
Richard Evans, South London Press: Outrage at Ripper sex kit