NationStates Jolt Archive

Seems the UK is edging towards the Swedish model of dealing with prostitution...

New prostitution laws to be set out today will mean a plea of ignorance is no defence for men facing prosecution for buying sex from a woman who has been trafficked or is being exploited by a pimp.

The decision to criminalise men who pay for sex with trafficked women is likely to have a widespread impact. The Metropolitan police have estimated that 70% of the 88,000 women involved in prostitution in England and Wales are under the control of traffickers.

It forms part of a wider package of reforms to tackle street prostitution, including prosecuting first-time kerb crawlers and implementing stronger police powers to close down brothels.

The change in the law follows a six-month Home Office-led review of prostitution laws which included visits by ministers, including Harriet Harman and Vernon Coaker, to Amsterdam and Stockholm to see how the law worked there.

Harman has described the flow of women brought into Britain by human traffickers as "a modern slave trade", and said that it only exists because men are prepared to buy sex: "So to protect women we must stop men buying sex from the victims of human trafficking."

However...

The former Home Office minister Fiona Mactaggart yesterday warned that the new criminal offence of paying for sex with a trafficked woman might fall apart in practice, and said there had been no prosecutions in Finland, the only other country where it had been made law.

The English Collective of Prostitutes said yesterday that experience had taught them any law against consenting sex forces prostitution further underground and makes women vulnerable to violence.

Abridged from this link (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/19/prostitution-law-trafficked-women-smith)

What thinks NSG?

What thinks NSG?Good luck with that.

Harman has described the flow of women brought into Britain by human traffickers as "a modern slave trade", and said that it only exists because men are prepared to buy sex: "So to protect women we must stop men buying sex from the victims of human trafficking."

All about that. Good on the UK.


This however worries me:
The English Collective of Prostitutes said yesterday that experience had taught them any law against consenting sex forces prostitution further underground and makes women vulnerable to violence.

I think it could work. But I think they need to devoute more resources to going after the sub human scum that abducts and controls these women.

The English Collective of Prostitutes..

Epic, just epic.

Seems the UK is edging towards the Swedish model of dealing with prostitution...

New prostitution laws to be set out today will mean a plea of ignorance is no defense for men facing prosecution for buying sex from a woman who has been trafficked or is being exploited by a pimp.

I hate pimps and human traffickers as much as the next guy, but the problem I have with this is how the hell is the guy supposed to know?

I hate pimps and human traffickers as much as the next guy, but the problem I have with this is how the hell is the guy supposed to know?

The point is to stop men from buying prostitutes period, destroying the market and decreasing human trafficing. And since 70% of the hookers in the UK are in that situation, its a pretty solid tactic.


Provided it just doesnt force it under ground.

The point is to stop men from buying prostitutes period
I think that's a poor aim.

Ending human trafficing, however, is a great one.

I think that's a poor aim.

Ending human trafficing, however, is a great one.

Killing the market towards prostitution is a good place to start with stopping human trafficing.

After you kill the market for trafficing, figure out a way to bring it back legally without inviting the sub human (trafficers) scum back in.


And you know what? If making prostition illegal, with harsh penalties for those who seek to buy prostitutes, thus neutering the market, is the only effective way to fight human trafficing, than so be it. Ill make that sacrifice, and I think any decent human being would be willing to, too.

I personally think having a legal, government run prostition (with all prostitution outside the government run one being illegal) is the best way to go, but Ill take when I can get.

Killing the market towards prostitution is a good place to start with stopping human trafficing...And you know what? If making prostition legal, with harsh penalties for those who seek to buy prostitutes, thus neutering the market, is the only effective way to fight human trafficing, than so be it.
Making penalties for soliciting prostitutes much harsher, or 'killing the market' will only push prostitution further underground; further into the hands of traffickers.

Prostitution isn't bad in and of itself. What we need to do is drastically change the ways in which prostitution is operated along with many of our attitudes towards prostitution. This isn't some activity that can be snuffed out through prohibition; indeed, I believe it would worsen the plight of many already vulnerable women and men.

but Ill take when I can get.
You slag, you.

:p

This seems like an attempt to kill the weed by cutting off its food source. I think however that its not enough just doing that, they still are not attacking the root of the problem, human trafficking, directly.

Making penalties for soliciting prostitutes much harsher, or 'killing the market' will only push prostitution further underground; further into the hands of traffickers.

I often see this argument but does it hold up? Even where prostitution is visible it's underground to some extent. In fact, because it's visible, a relaxed frame of mind through familiarity means we don't question too much as to what happens behind closed doors.

I mean, I don't fully buy the idea that prostitutes are safer out in the 'open' so much and I also feel that having it out in the open legitimizes the demand, meaning more people are comfortable with visiting, greater demand is generated and more people are forced into the practice.

Prostitution isn't bad in and of itself. What we need to do is drastically change the ways in which prostitution is operated along with many of our attitudes towards prostitution. This isn't some activity that can be snuffed out through prohibition; indeed, I believe it would worsen the plight of many already vulnerable women and men.

I doubt it will ever be snuffed out so the question is how do we limit the impact of the detrimental aspects, the trafficking and abuse - making men a little more wary of visiting seems, to me, a good idea.

I'll be interested in the results.

Why not legalize prostitution and regulate it like any other industry?

Why not legalize prostitution and regulate it like any other industry?

It's complicated per country...

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12516582

Quite a balanced article.

Ah, Jacqui "can't wait for ID cards" Smith strikes again with ridiculousness. How are users of prostitutes meant to know whether the person has been trafficked? And why is this only applied to women selling sex to men?

Ah, Jacqui "can't wait for ID cards" Smith strikes again with ridiculousness. How are users of prostitutes meant to know whether the person has been trafficked?Maybe the government can make an online register of legal prostitutes (and their prices, just to make it convenient ;) ).

And why is this only applied to women selling sex to men?Because society is still inherently sexist.

law isnt worth a damn. If they cant identified exploited women easily enough to arrest her pimp what makes it likely they can identify who is being exploited quickly enough to arrest a customer for it.

The law is likely the religious groups trying to scare people away from hookers.

This however worries me:

The English Collective of Prostitutes said yesterday that experience had taught them any law against consenting sex forces prostitution further underground and makes women vulnerable to violence.

I think it could work. But I think they need to devoute more resources to going after the sub human scum that abducts and controls these women.
that worries me too. would it not be best to make this totally out in the open so it can be policed, monitored and regulated more easily?

that worries me too. would it not be best to make this totally out in the open so it can be policed, monitored and regulated more easily?

That would make sense, governments are not in the business of making sense.

Making any industry illegal causes problems. Just make it legal, have it with strictly controlled government regulations. Problem solved.

70% of the prostitutes in the UK are from outside the country and are forced into prostitution?