Prostitution in the United Kingdom - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

itself (the exchange of sexual services for money) is not a crime, but a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling

Kerb crawler

A kerb crawler is a person who drives around areas known for street prostitution soliciting prostitutes for sex. The act is known as "kerb crawling" because the person will typically drive very slowly along the kerbside....

, owning a brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

, pimping

Pimp

A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...

and pandering

Procuring (prostitution)

Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. Examples of procuring include:*trafficking a prostitute into a country for the purpose of soliciting sex...

, are crimes.

In England and Wales and in Northern Ireland it is an offence to pay for sex with a prostitute who has been “subjected to force” and this is a strict liability

Strict liability

In law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...

offence (clients can be prosecuted even if they didn’t know the prostitute was forced).

It is illegal to buy sex from a person younger than 18, although the age of consent for non-commercial sex is 16.

Customers

Section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that was passed in 2003 and became law on 1 May 2004.It replaced older sexual offences laws with more specific and explicit wording...

creates the offence
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

of "paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc", which is a strict liability
Strict liability
In law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...

offence (clients can be prosecuted even if they didn’t know the prostitute was forced). This section was inserted on 1 April 2010 by section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009
Policing and Crime Act 2009
The Policing and Crime Act 2009 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision about police reform, prostitutes, sex offenders, sex establishments and certain other premises...

.

Section 51A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that was passed in 2003 and became law on 1 May 2004.It replaced older sexual offences laws with more specific and explicit wording...

(as inserted by section 19 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009
Policing and Crime Act 2009
The Policing and Crime Act 2009 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision about police reform, prostitutes, sex offenders, sex establishments and certain other premises...

) provides the offense of "soliciting".

Paying for sexual services of a child (s.47). For this purpose, a "child" is a person under 18.

Prostitutes

It is an offence for a person persistently to loiter or solicit
Solicitation
Literally, solicitation means: 'urgently asking'. It is the action or instance of soliciting; petition; proposal. In criminal law, it most commonly refers to either the act of offering goods or services, or the act of attempting to purchase such goods or services...

in a street or public place for the purpose of prostitution (which in this case means loitering or soliciting for the purpose of offering their services as a prostitute): This offence is created by section 1(1) of the Street Offences Act 1959 as amended by section 16 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009
Policing and Crime Act 2009
The Policing and Crime Act 2009 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision about police reform, prostitutes, sex offenders, sex establishments and certain other premises...

. It prohibits street prostitution
Street prostitution
Street prostitution is a form of prostitution in which a sex worker solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as parks, beaches, etc. The street prostitute is often dressed in a...

.

The term "prostitute" is defined for the purposes of sections 48 to 50 and 52 and 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that was passed in 2003 and became law on 1 May 2004.It replaced older sexual offences laws with more specific and explicit wording...

, and for the purposes of section 33A of the Sexual Offences Act 1956
Sexual Offences Act 1956
The Sexual Offences Act 1956 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which replaced it, but sections 33 to 37 still survive. The 2003 Act...

, by section 51(2) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that was passed in 2003 and became law on 1 May 2004.It replaced older sexual offences laws with more specific and explicit wording...

, as a someone who has offered or provided sexual services to another person in return for any financial arrangement on at least one occasion.

working as a prostitute in private is not an offence, and neither is working as an outcall escort.

Third parties

Causing or inciting prostitution for gain (s.52)

52 Causing or inciting prostitution for gain

(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a) he intentionally causes or incites another person to become a prostitute in any part of the world, and

(b) he does so for or in the expectation of gain for himself or a third person.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.

Controlling prostitution for gain (s.53). This prohibits pimping. Escort agencies are illegal where the agency is controlling the escorts.

53 Controlling prostitution for gain

(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a) he intentionally controls any of the activities of another person relating to that person’s prostitution in any part of the world, and

(b) he does so for or in the expectation of gain for himself or a third person.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.

It is an offence for a person to keep, or to manage, or act or assist in the management of, a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

to which people resort for practices involving prostitution: This offence is created by section 33A of the Sexual Offences Act 1956
Sexual Offences Act 1956
The Sexual Offences Act 1956 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which replaced it, but sections 33 to 37 still survive. The 2003 Act...

, which was inserted by the Sexual Offences Act 2003
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that was passed in 2003 and became law on 1 May 2004.It replaced older sexual offences laws with more specific and explicit wording...

. Premises which are frequented by men for intercourse with only one woman are not a brothel, and this is so whether she is a tenant or not.

33A Keeping a brothel used for prostitution

(1) It is an offence for a person to keep, or to manage, or act or assist in the management of, a brothel to which people resort for practices involving prostitution (whether or not also for other practices).
In regard to child prostitution:

The following offences are created by the Sexual Offences Act 2003

Sexual Offences Act 2003

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that was passed in 2003 and became law on 1 May 2004.It replaced older sexual offences laws with more specific and explicit wording...

Causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography (s.48)
Controlling a child prostitute or a child involved in pornography (s.49)
Arranging or facilitating child prostitution or pornography (s.50)

Legal history

The Policing and Crime Act 2009

Policing and Crime Act 2009

The Policing and Crime Act 2009 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision about police reform, prostitutes, sex offenders, sex establishments and certain other premises...

made amends to the laws on soliciting and loitering for the purposes of prostitution. The main changes are the shifting of focus from the prostitutes to the customers. Before 1 April 2010, it was illegal for a customer to kerb crawl/solicit only if this was done "persistently", or "in a manner likely to cause annoyance". Today, all forms of public solicitation by a customer are illegal, regardless of the manner in which the prostitute was solicited. In regard to prostitutes, before 1 April 2010,
a prostitute was always committing a crime by soliciting/loitering in a public place. Today, she commits a crime only if she does this "persistently".

Former laws which have been replaced by the new offenses created by the Policing and Crime Act 2009.

From 1959 to 1 April 2010, it was an offence for a common prostitute
Common prostitute
"Common prostitute" is a term used in English law related to prostitution. The term was first used in the Vagrancy Act 1824. The term continued to be used in the Street Offences Act 1959 which maintained the illegality of street prostitution...

to loiter or solicit
Solicitation
Literally, solicitation means: 'urgently asking'. It is the action or instance of soliciting; petition; proposal. In criminal law, it most commonly refers to either the act of offering goods or services, or the act of attempting to purchase such goods or services...

in a street or public place for the purpose of prostitution: This offence was created by section 1(1) of the Street Offences Act 1959.
From 1985 to 1 April 2010 it was an offence for a person to solicit another person, or different persons, for the purpose of prostitution (which in this case means soliciting for the purpose of obtaining the other person's services as a prostitute) from a motor vehicle while it is in a street or public place, or in the immediate vicinity of a motor vehicle that he has just got out of or off, while he is in a street or public place, if he does so persistently, or in a manner likely to cause annoyance to the person, or to any of the persons, solicited, or likely to cause nuisance to other persons in the neighbourhood: This offence was created by section 1(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 1985
Sexual Offences Act 1985
The Sexual Offences Act 1985 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created two offences concerning prostitution, and increased the maximum sentence for attempted rape from 7 years to life imprisonment....

and was known as kerb-crawling.
From 1985 to 1 April 2010 it was an offence for a person to persistently solicit another person, or different persons, for the purpose of prostitution (which in this case means soliciting for the purpose of obtaining the other person's services as a prostitute): This offence was created by section 2(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 1985
Sexual Offences Act 1985
The Sexual Offences Act 1985 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created two offences concerning prostitution, and increased the maximum sentence for attempted rape from 7 years to life imprisonment....

.

Reform to prostitution laws

According to the present law, one prostitute may work from an indoor premises, but if there are two or more prostitutes the place is considered a brothel and it is an offence.

Historically, local police forces have wavered between zero tolerance

Zero tolerance

Zero tolerance imposes automatic punishment for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct. Zero-tolerance policies forbid persons in positions of authority from exercising discretion or changing punishments to fit the circumstances subjectively; they are...

of prostitution and unofficial red light districts.

During recent years there has been long and widespread debate about the legal situation of prostitution in the UK, and, currently, the government appears to favour tough "anti-prostitution" laws. The debate had centred around whether UK should follow the example of Netherlands

Prostitution in the Netherlands

Prostitution in the Netherlands is legal and regulated. Operating a brothel is also legal. In the last few years, a significant number of brothels and "windows" have been closed because of suspected criminal activity...

, Germany

Prostitution in Germany

Prostitution in Germany is legal, and so are brothels. In 2002, the government changed the law in an effort to improve the legal situation of prostitutes. However, the social stigmatization of prostitutes persists and many prostitutes continue to lead a double life...

or New Zealand

Prostitution in New Zealand

Prostitution , brothel keeping, living off the proceeds of someone else's prostitution and street solicitation are legal and regulated in New Zealand...

and tolerate prostitution, or whether the country should make it illegal to pay for sex, like in Sweden

Prostitution in Sweden

The laws on prostitution in Sweden make it illegal to buy sexual services, but not to sell them. Pimping, procuring and operating a brothel are also illegal...

, Norway

Prostitution in Norway

Prostitution in Norway is only illegal in that paying for sex is a crime...

and Iceland

Prostitution in Iceland

Paying for sex is illegal in Iceland. In April 2009, the Icelandic Parliament passed new legislation that makes paying for sex illegal ....

. In 2006, the government raised the possibility of loosening the prostitution laws and allowing small brothels in England and Wales, but in the end the plans to allow "mini brothels" were abandoned, after fears that such establishments would bring pimps and drug dealers into residential areas. Instead, it was decided that prostitution should not be tolerated and the laws should become even stricter.

After this, government ministers suggested that rather than permitting mini-brothels, they would like to tackle the "demand side" of prostitution and make it illegal to pay for sex. One proponent of this was Minister for Women and Equality

Minister for Women and Equality

The post of Minister for Women and Equalities is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom with responsibility for addressing all forms of discrimination, with particular emphasis on gender inequality.-History:...

, Harriet Harman

Harriet Harman

Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...

. Ministers pointed to Sweden

Prostitution in Sweden

The laws on prostitution in Sweden make it illegal to buy sexual services, but not to sell them. Pimping, procuring and operating a brothel are also illegal...

, where purchasing sexual services is a criminal offence.

The government's tougher approach towards prostitution began to make legislative progress in 2008, as Home Secretary

Home Secretary

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...

Jacqui Smith

Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...

announced that paying for sex from a prostitute under the control of a pimp would become a criminal offence. Clients could also face rape charges for knowingly paying for sex from an illegally trafficked woman, and first-time offenders could face charges.

The Policing and Crime Act 2009

Policing and Crime Act 2009

made it an offence to pay for the services of a prostitute "subjected to force" to implement that proposal. It also made other provisions in relation to prostitution.

Current laws

The following are offences:

Paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc, contrary to article 64 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1769 (N.I. 2)):

This article was inserted on 1 April 2010 by section 15 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009

Policing and Crime Act 2009

Soliciting, contrary to article 60 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1769 (N.I. 2)):

This article was substituted on 1 April 2010 by section 20 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009

Policing and Crime Act 2009

Legal history

The offence of kerb-crawling, formerly created by article 60 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1769 (N.I. 2) and the offence of persistent soliciting, formerly created by article 61 of that Order, were both abolished on 1 April 2010 by section 20 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009

Policing and Crime Act 2009

, which created the new offense of "soliciting"- "Soliciting: Northern Ireland For Articles 60 and 61 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 1769 (N.I. 2)) (kerb-crawling and persistent soliciting) substitute".

Scotland

A similar situation exists in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, where prostitution itself (the exchange of sexual services for money) is not illegal, but associated activities (such as public solicitation, operating a brothel or other forms of pimping) are criminal offences.

Street prostitution is dealt with under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982

Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982

The Civic Government Act 1982 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which makes provision for a wide range of civic government matters....

, section 46(1), which states that:

a prostitute (whether male or female) who for the purposes of prostitution either

loiters in a public place
solicits in a public place or in any other place so as to be seen from a public place or
importunes any person in a public place

shall be guilty of an offence

Kerb crawling

Kerb crawler

, soliciting a prostitute for sex in a public place and loitering for the same purpose are also criminal.

(1) A person (“A”) who, for the purpose of obtaining the services of a person engaged in prostitution, solicits in a relevant place commits an offence.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) it is immaterial whether or not—

(a) A is in or on public transport,

(b) A is in a motor vehicle which is not public transport,

(c) a person solicited by A for the purpose mentioned in that subsection is a person engaged in prostitution.

(6) In this section— ...

"relevant place" means—

(a) a public place within the meaning of section 133 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (c. 45),

(b) a place to which at the material time the public are permitted to have access (whether on payment or otherwise),

and in subsection (1) includes a place which is visible from a place mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b).

Operating a brothel is illegal:

(5) Any person who—

(a) keeps or manages or acts or assists in the management of a brothel; or

(b) being the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any premises, knowingly permits such premises or any part thereof to be used as a brothel or for the purposes of habitual prostitution; or

(c) being the lessor or landlord of any premises, or the agent of such lessor or landlord, lets the same or any part thereof with the knowledge that such premises or some part thereof are or is to be used as a brothel, or is willfully a party to the continued use of such premises or any part thereof as a brothel,

shall be guilty of an offence.

Other forms of pimping are also illegal.

There was formerly no specific offence directed at clients in Scotland in contrast to the “kerb crawling” offence in England and Wales in the Sexual Offences Act 1985

Sexual Offences Act 1985

The Sexual Offences Act 1985 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created two offences concerning prostitution, and increased the maximum sentence for attempted rape from 7 years to life imprisonment....

. However the Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act 2007 introduced a kerb crawling offence in Scotland, the maximum penalty for which is a £1000 fine. This came into force on 15 October 2007.

Reform to prostitution laws

A Prostitution Tolerance Zones Bill was introduced into the Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

but failed to become law. Instead, the Parliament passed the Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act 2007 which leaves the law relating to prostitutes unchanged but introduces a new offence committed by their clients.

In April 2010, a plan to criminalize the customers, which had been introduced by Labour politicians, was rejected.
A further attempt by Marlyn Glen

Marlyn Glen

Marlyn Glen is a Scottish Labour politician, and was Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland region from 2003 till she stood down in the election of 2011....

(Labour) to introduce this (amendment 6) at Stage 3 was also voted down 78: 44 on June 30, 2010.

Extent

The total number of prostitutes is not known and is difficult to assess, but authorities and NGOs estimate that approximately 100,000 persons in the country are engaged in prostitution.
The personal circumstances of prostitutes are not clear and are, as elsewhere, the subject of political controversy.

The sex trade takes different forms, such as prostitution practiced in massage parlors, saunas, private flats, street prostitution and escort prostitution. The enforcement of the anti-prostitution laws is very lax.

In the late 2000s, a study compiled by the Poppy Project found brothels in all 33 London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

local authority areas. Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

had the highest number with 71, compared with 8 in Southwark

Southwark

Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...

. For this study the researchers had posed as potential customers and had telephoned 921 brothels that had advertised in local newspapers. The researchers estimated that the brothels generated between £50m and £130m a year. Many brothels operated through legitimate businesses - licensed as saunas or massage parlours - though the vast majority were in private flats in residential areas. The report found 77 different ethnicities among the prostitutes, many from areas such as Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

and South-East Asia.
The study has been called "the most comprehensive study ever conducted into UK brothels" but its methodology has been criticized, and it has been rejected by sex workers' activists and academic studies.

According to a 2009 study by TAMPEP

TAMPEP

TAMPEP is an international organization that supports the health and human rights of migrant sex workers in Europe. Founded in 1993 with headquarters in Amsterdam, the organization initially operated in Italy, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands...

, of all prostitutes in the UK, 41% were foreigners - however in London this percentage was 80%. The total number of migrant prostitutes was significantly lower than in other Western countries (such as Spain and Italy where the percentage of all migrant prostitutes was 90%). The migrant prostitutes came from: Central Europe 43%, Baltic
10%, Eastern Europe 7%, Balkan 4%, other EU countries 16%, Latin America 10%, Asia, 7%, Africa 2%, North America 1%. 35 different countries of origin were identified.

Public opinion

A CATI survey conducted in January 2008 revealed the following answers:

Paying for sex exploits women and should be a criminal offence: 44% of the total respondents agree (65% of those aged 18–24 agree; 48% of all women agree, 39% of men agree)

Paying for sex exploits women but should not be a criminal offence: 21% of the total respondents agree

Paying for sex does not exploit women and should not be a criminal offence: 17% of the total respondents agree

Paying for sex does not exploit women but should be a criminal offence: 8% of the total respondents agree

A Ipsos-Mori poll conducted in July and August 2008 showed that 61% of women and 42% of men thought that paying for sex was "unacceptable". 65% of women and 40% of men said selling sex was "unacceptable". Young people were the most opposed to prostitution: 64% of the youth said that paying for sex was "unacceptable" and 69% believed that selling sex was "unacceptable"; older people had more relaxed attitudes about prostitution (men over 55 were the most accepting of buying sex).
60% of all the people who were questioned would feel ashamed if they found out a family member was working as a prostitute. 43% thought it should be illegal to pay for sex, however 58% would support making it illegal to pay for sex if "it will help reduce the numbers of women and children being trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation".

Ipswich serial murders

The Ipswich serial murders took place between 30 October and 10 December 2006, when the bodies of five murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

ed women were discovered at different locations near Ipswich

Ipswich

Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

, Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. All the victims were prostitutes from the Ipswich area. Steve Wright

Steve Wright (serial killer)

Steven Gerald James Wright is an English serial killer, also known as the Suffolk Strangler. He is currently serving life imprisonment for the murder of five women who worked as prostitutes in Ipswich, Suffolk...

was sentenced to life imprisonment

Life imprisonment

Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...

- with recommendation of a whole life tariff

Whole life tariff

This is a list of prisoners who have received a whole life tariff through some mechanism in jurisdictions of the United Kingdom.Eight of these prisoners have since died in prison, while three of them have had their sentences reduced on appeal, meaning that there are currently at least 48 prisoners...

- for the murders. The case received high media attention.

Bradford murders

In Bradford, in 2010, Stephen Shaun Griffiths, 40, was arrested on 24 May and subsequently charged with killing the three prostitutes. On 21 December 2010 Griffiths was convicted of all three murders after pleading guilty. He was given a life sentence.

David Cameron

David Cameron

David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

, the new Conservative prime minister, said the murders were a "terrible shock". He said the decriminalization of prostitution should be "looked at again", but he also added that: "I don't think we should jump to conclusions on this - there are all sorts of problems that decriminalisation would bring." Later, aides close to Cameron strongly insisted he was not suggesting prostitution should be legalised and was more concerned with addressing the social problems surrounding it such as encouraging agencies to work together to help women off the streets or to combat drug addiction. Cameron has also called for tougher action on kerb-crawling and drug abuse

Drug abuse

Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...

.
The debate as to whether a change in the law would protect prostitutes continues.

Human trafficking

There has been a growing awareness of human trafficking

Human trafficking

Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...

, in particular the trafficking of women and underage girls into the UK for forced prostitution. A particular high profile case resulted in the conviction of five Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

ns who trafficked a 16 year old Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n girl and forced her to have sex with as many as 10 men a day.

Cases of sex trafficking in England and Wales are dealt with under the Sexual Offences Act 2003

Sexual Offences Act 2003

. This act deviates from the International definition of trafficking (from the UN Protocol

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children is a protocol to the Convention against Transnational Organised Crime...

) in that it does not require that a person is trafficked for sex against their will or with the use of coercion or force. Simply arranging or facilitating the arrival in the United Kingdom of another person for the purpose of prostitution is considered human trafficking .
Section 57 (Trafficking into the UK for sexual exploitation) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003

Sexual Offences Act 2003

reads :

(1) A person commits an offence if he intentionally arranges or facilitates the arrival in the United Kingdom of another person (B) and either—

(a) he intends to do anything to or in respect of B, after B’s arrival but in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence, or

(b) he believes that another person is likely to do something to or in respect of B, after B’s arrival but in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence.'

Offences relating to trafficking within and out of the UK are contained in sections 58 and 59 of the Act. These offences apply in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, with section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 providing similar offences for Scotland .

The UK government signed The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in March 2007, and ratified it in December 2008 .

Internationally, the most common destinations for victims of human trafficking are Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

and the US, according to a report by the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...

).

The major sources of trafficked persons include Thailand

Thailand

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Albania

Albania

, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

, Moldova

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

and Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

Pro legalization

Like many other countries, the UK has sex workers' rights groups, which argue that the best solution for the problems associated with prostitution is decriminalization. These groups have criticized the provisions from the Policing and Crime Act 2009

Policing and Crime Act 2009

.

The English Collective of Prostitutes

English Collective of Prostitutes

The English Collective of Prostitutes founded in 1975, campaigns for the decriminalisation of prostitution, sex workers’ right to recognition and safety, and financial alternatives so that no one is forced into prostitution by poverty....

(ECP) founded in 1975, campaigns for the decriminalization of prostitution, sex workers’ right to recognition and safety, and financial alternatives so that no one is forced into prostitution by poverty; in addition the ECP provides information, help and support to individual prostitutes and others concerned with sex workers’ rights. One member, Nikki Adams, said that the government was overstating the extent of the trafficking problem, and that most prostitution was consensual.

The UK based International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW), part of GMB Trade Union, campaigns for the labour rights of those who work in the sex industry.

Against legalization

Legalized prostitution is opposed by radical feminists (such as Julie Bindel

Julie Bindel

Julie Bindel is an English writer, feminist and co-founder of the group Justice For Women, which opposes violence against women from a feminist viewpoint....

) who argue that prostitution is inherently exploitative, and by many in the Government and the police. Apart from ethical issues, the main argument brought against the legalization of prostitution is that such a move would only result in an increase in human trafficking

Human trafficking

Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...

and crime

Crime

Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

. The common example offered by anti-prostitution activists is that of Netherlands

Netherlands

, which currently has severe problems with human trafficking and crime, the mayor of Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, Job Cohen

Job Cohen

Marius Job Cohen is a Dutch social democratic politician and former legal scholar of Jewish background. Since 2010 he has been the leader of the Labour Party and since June 17, 2010 he has been a member of the House of Representatives, where he also is the Parliamentary group leader of the Labour...

having said about legal prostitution in his city: "We’ve realized this is no longer about small-scale entrepreneurs, but that big crime organizations are involved here in trafficking women, drugs, killings and other criminal activities" and "We realize that this [legal prostitution] hasn’t worked, that trafficking in women continues. Women are now moved around more, making police work more difficult.” Three British ministers, Vernon Coaker

Vernon Coaker

Vernon Rodney Coaker is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Gedling since 1997; Coaker was appointed Minister of State for Schools and Learners in June 2009, a post he held until Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister on 11 May 2010...

, Barbara Follett and Vera Baird

Vera Baird

Vera Baird is a British Labour Party activist, barrister, author and lecturer. She serves as visiting lecturer at London Southbank University and is co-director of Astraea: Gender Justice...

, had visited the Netherlands to study their approach to the sex trade, and had come to the conclusion that their policy of legal prostitution was not effective, and had therefore ruled out the legalization of prostitution in the UK.

External links

News

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Customers

Prostitutes

Third parties

Legal history

Reform to prostitution laws

Current laws

Legal history

Scotland

Reform to prostitution laws

Extent

Public opinion

Ipswich serial murders

Bradford murders

Human trafficking

Pro legalization

Against legalization

See also

External links