Prostitution in the United Kingdom

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Prostitution in the United Kingdom is not formally illegal, but several activities surrounding it are outlawed.

One of the most famous, but controversial, guides is the McCoy's British Massage Parlour Guide.

England and Wales

In England and Wales, the legal situation is:

  • for a prostitute to loiter or conduct solicitation in a street or public place is illegal, therefore outlawing street prostitution.
  • it is also illegal for a potential client to solicit persistently, or solicit from a motor vehicle ("kerb crawling"). (In 1992 the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Sir Allan Green, was caught committing this offense and resigned.) This law does not apply in Northern Ireland or Scotland although it is likely to be extended there soon.
  • owning or running a brothel is illegal.
  • child prostitution is specifically illegal for the person paying (where child is defined as below 18)
  • controlling prostitution for gain is an offense, banning pimping

The last offense replaced the similar "living on earnings of prostitution" under the Sexual offenses Act 1956.

There has been long and widespread debate as to whether the a toleration of prostitution similar to that seen in The Netherlands and Germany should be extended. Local police forces have historically flipped between zero tolerance of prostitution and unofficial red-light districts.

The Government announced on January 17, 2006, that in England and Wales it was considering allowing small brothels, whilst continuing the crackdown against kerb-crawling, which is seen as a nuisance. [1]

Prostitution in Scotland

A similar situation exists in Scotland, with prostitution itself not illegal but associated activities are. Street prostitution is dealt with under the Civic Government (Scotland Act, 1982, Section 48-1), which states that:

a prostitute (whether male or female) who for the purposes of prostitution either
  1. loiters in a public place
  2. solicits in a public place or in any other place so as to be seen from a public place or
  3. importunes any person in a public place
shall be guilty of an offense

These offenses are not imprisonable, but are instead subject to a fine (£50 - £500). However many women end up in prison for non-payment of fines. Prostitution is classed as a "crime of indecency", a sex offense in the same category as sexual assault. As such it must be disclosed to potential employers and can act as a barrier to employment – particularly child-care and related sectors. The same legislation gives local councils the power to issue licences to premises for public entertainment. This has been used by Edinburgh city council to issue licences for “saunas" in which many are in reality brothels). However running brothels and “living off immoral earnings remain criminal offenses.

There is no specific legislation directed at clients in Scotland in contrast to the “kerb crawling" offense in the Sexual offenses (England and Wales) Act 1985.

Edinburgh

There are an estimated 1000 women in prostitution in Edinburgh, with approximately 75% engagedin indoor prostitution through saunas, escort agencies and private flats. Saunas (brothels) are regulated through entertainments licences granted to these establishments this involving the local council the management of prostitution

Street prostitution was tolerated in the area of Leith for approximately 20 years, where the police did not target prostituted women, but worked to ensure their safety. Specialist services for prostituted women were also provided in the locale. It was promoted as a model of prostitution management - no under-age girls were working in the area and there was no open drug dealing occurring. With the increased use of the area for residential purposes and in particular the gentrification which occurred in the 1990s, objections to the prostitution increase, and the policy of non-harassment by the police ended in 2002. Attacks on prostituted women increased, and there has been a return to the targeting of the women by the police.

Edinburgh has a very large and quite public prostitution industry – although street prostitution is less visible now than when the non-harassment policy was in place, the brothels are well known and quite visible – there is also a large sex-industry in Edinburgh beyond prostitution. There is evidence of domestic trafficking of women from Glasgow to Edinburgh to work in the brothels.

Glasgow

Glasgow City council has taken an opposite route to Edinburgh. They have a "Zero-Tolerance" policy towards prostitution, although there is an unofficial red light zone in the city center, where women elect to work because of the presence of cameras. There are approximately 1000 women engaged in street prostitution, 95% of whom are estimated to have addiction problems and additional 100 are estimated to work indoors in “saunas" or private flats. There is evidence of non-UK women being trafficked to Glasgow to meet the demands of the industry.

Until recently Glasgow city council had ignored prostitution as an issue however with the spate of murders in the 1990s a new approach was required. This has three aspects, an organisation to assist women exit prostitution; a drop in center to facilitate harm reduction and an interventionist policing strategy which has involved targeting the women. There are regularly 60 women from Glasgow in Corton Vale Prison through the non-payment of fines received whilst working in prostitution.

Aberdeen

There is estimated to be 175 women working in street prostitution in the industrial docklands area of the city where prostitution is tolerated. The women are given strict guidelines such are when they can congregate and how many people are permitted in the area. Approximately 90% of the women are estimated to have addiction problems, and issues have arisen with drug dealers congregating in the area.

Reform to Prostitution Laws

A Prostitution Tolerance Zones Bill was introduced into the Scottish Parliament but failed to become law. The Scottish Executive is planning to bring proposals to the table, probably along the lines of the thinking in England which would include support for "mini-brothels" and also introduce a crime of kerb crawling seeking to target clients of prostitute users. This approach is however controversial with several organisations advocating complete decriminalisation/legalisation, and others - most notably the Scottish Socialist Party proposing the legal targeting of the clients, as is done in Sweden. Within Sweden however this strategy remains controversial. [2] [3]

Human Trafficking

There has been a growing awareness of human trafficking, in particular the trafficking of women and underage girls in to the UK for forced prostitution. A particular high profile case resulted in the conviction of five Albanians who ‘trafficked’ a 16 year old Lithuanian girl and forced her into prostitution. [4] According to Home Office figures, there are over 1,000 cases of trafficking each year. Amnesty International has called on the UK government to sign the The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings that the UK has not yet signed. [5]

See also

External links

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