WUNRN
http://uk.sputniknews.com/uk/20141109/1013195467.html
UK – DEBATE FOR DECADES ON
PROSTITUTION. SHOULD IT BE LEGALISED? SHOULD IT BE PUNISHED? WHO SHOULD BE
TARGETED?
By Julie Bindel – November 9, 2014
Currently, the law in England & Wales is piecemeal and
unclear, with policing focusing on street-prostitution, spurred
on by complaints from residents. "What is the point
of arresting women who are unfortunate enough to be involved
in prostitution, when we should be putting everything in place
to asset them out of this vile industry," says Heather Harvey,
research and campaigns manager at Eaves, a charity that supports women
trafficked into prostitution in the UK.
A recent article entitled, ‘Why It's Time to Legalize Prostitution'
made the claim that, ‘Evidence shows that [legalisation] would protect sex
workers, reduce violence, cut down on sex trafficking, and more. There's
no good reason not to'.
The author argued that, "As with the drug trade, much
of the violence associated with sex work is exacerbated by its
illegality. Violent people are more likely to prey on sex workers,
confident that they won't be reported to police." But the women
in prostitution are not, like drugs, inanimate objects, and there is
no evidence that buying sex is addictive.
The reality is that there are a minimum of one thousand
working brothels in London. That's according to the Metropolitan
Police, and most are left to operate with impunity, with many
licenced as ‘saunas' or ‘massage parlours'.
There are two ways in which law and policy could shift
in the UK. One is to go the route of Netherlands and Germany and
legalise the entire trade, including pimping and brothel owning. The second is
to see prostitution as a human rights violation, and to seek
to abolish the trade. One way to reduce supply, and
to re-educate the general public about the reality of the sex
trade is to aim criminal sanctions towards the buyers and not the
women.
In 1999, Sweden took the brave step of being the first
country to introduce a law that criminalised demand. A number
of countries later followed suit, including France, Northern Ireland,
Norway, and Iceland.
© Photo: Chartsbin.com
The
Legal Status of Prostitution by Country
"We should be implementing laws where the men who buy or
attempt to buy sex are targeted," says Ruth, a former prostitute who
now trains police officers in how to best deal with street-based
women, "because to challenge demand for prostitution would bring
about a whole change in attitude about why men pay
for sex."
Fiona Mactaggart MP, is currently pushing for the
government to undertake a review of the links
between prostitution and trafficking, as an amendment to the
Modern Slavery Bill. Shadow Minister for Preventing Violence
against Women and Girls, Seema Malhotra MP, supports the campaign
to criminalise the demand. In the UK there are currently an estimated
sixty to eighty thousand people, mainly women, involved in the sex
trade. A number of studies show that a large majority are abused
into prostitution when they are below the age of 18. Between
1990 and 2000, for example, the number of men paying for sex
in the UK almost doubled. The trade itself is worth at least £130
million, according to the Home Office.
"It is high time the men who pay for sex take the
blame for this vile trade, rather than prostituted women," says
Amy, who left prostitution over a decade ago and works
with vulnerable young women, "There are a handful of women who
happily choose prostitution, and who make money from it. But the majority
of those in the sex industry are there through a lack of choice,
and their life stories commonly feature sexual abuse, neglect, domestic
violence, and, in many cases, periods in local authority care."
Many in the UK are persuaded by the case
for legalisation. Supporters, such as the lobby group, the English
Collective of Prostitutes, argue that illegal prostitution drives the sex
trade underground, resulting in the women becoming more vulnerable, both
to arrest and to violence from buyers. Those in favour
of legalisation argue that removing all laws would help to de-stigmatise
people in prostitution, and would, in turn, help the victims
of violence from pimps and customers to report crimes
to the police. Trafficking and other forms of forced prostitution,
underage victims, and coercion from pimps and other third party exploiters
would be tackled under legalisation, goes the reasoning, and the women can
pay tax and operate as independent businesswomen rather than relying
on pimps.
But a number of countries with legalised regimes have
found that repealing all laws have created a new set of problems. The Netherlands,
which legalised its brothel scene in 2000, is already backtracking,
with its politicians admitting that legalisation has failed
to deliver on its promises.
In Amsterdam criminal gangs rather than individual
entrepreneurs, control the red-light area. In recent years the local council
has attempted to transform the reputation of the city. More
than half of the window brothels have been replaced by museums,
restaurants and art galleries.
Many of those controlling the window scene and facilitating
the trafficking of thousands of women into Amsterdam are
so-called "loverboys", young Dutchmen of Moroccan, Turkish or
Surinamese descent, who look for vulnerable young Dutch women. They pose
as boyfriends, eventually forcing their "girlfriends"
into prostitution.
The brothels are largely populated by vulnerable women
from Eastern Europe, Africa and south-east Asia to work in the
legal zones. Many will have been trafficked by criminal gangs or
individual entrepreneurs. The number of women being trafficked
into the Netherlands has increased, whereas in countries where demand
is criminalised, such as Sweden, numbers are dwindling.
"There is little good to be said
for legalisation," says Roger Matthews, a Professor
of Criminology at Kent University. "Research has shown that the
majority of women in prostitution actually want to get out, and
many are badly damaged by it."
A 2008 evaluation of the Swedish
law, shows that legislation criminalising demand has been a
resounding success. The evaluation concludes that, since the law came
in to force in 1999, the number of women involved in street
prostitution has halved, whereas neighbouring countries such as Denmark
and Norway have seen a sharp rise. There is also no evidence of a
rise in the off-street trade in Sweden.
The advertising of prostitution through the internet
has increased in Sweden, as it has in other countries. This is
not due to the law, the evaluation concludes, but to the development
of online technology generally.
The evaluators also found that the law functioned as a
barrier against the establishment of traffickers and pimps
in Sweden, and had led to a reduction in organised crime.
Legalisation offers little benefit to the women,
as most do not wish to register as prostitutes, and often they
are controlled by men with whom they live. This means they don't
benefit from the freedom that being a ‘sole trader' is supposed
to bring. But it does benefit the pimps, who, under legalisation,
become ‘managers'. As a result, the men who buy and sell women are
de-stigmatised, and by claiming that prostitution is a legitimate career
choice, many more women will be coerced into this abusive industry. Surely
the UK can take a brave step towards ending the sex trade, rather
than continuing to view it as an inevitable part of the
landscape?
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