Sex trafficking in the UK

[Sriram]

Hi everyone,

Here is an article about growing sex trafficking in the UK.

https://in.yahoo.com/news/sex-trafficking-taking-place-apos-231909592.html

May be of interest and concern to some people here.

Cheers.

Sriram

[Harrowby Hall]

An interesting article, Sriram.

However, having read the article I can find no evidence for your assertion that sex trafficking in Britain is "growing". Sex trafficking is a serious problem - but then it has been a serious problem in most west European countries.

English Law (I don't know about Scotland) has considered the selling of sex not to be an unlawful activity but one hemmed in with all kinds of restrictions with the result that some kind of infringement would almost always occur - soliciting, sharing premises, living off immoral earnings etc. One feature of this has been that the women involved acquire criminal records, their customers do not.

What has happened in recent times is that the activity has become industrialised with women recruited from less affluent countries by criminal gangs. The women are tricked into believing that they will be working in legitimate occupations but then find that they are actually sex slaves. Other countries are trying to eliminate the industry by removing demand - by criminalising the customer not the woman. We shall see whether this works.

[Rhiannon]

I saw an interview with some sex workers - British, who worked for themselves by choice - who said that they fear that criminalising the buyer will mean the decent clients will disappear and they will be left with the violent, abusive kinds who will ensure silence through intimidation and who won’t really care that much if they get caught as they probably have records anyway.

Realistically people will always seek paid-for sex. I don’t see why someone with disabilities, for example, should be criminalised because he or she pays for a sex worker to meet their need for intimacy. I’d rather see the sex industry legalised and regulated. Perhaps using an unlicensed service could be criminalised as a way forward.

[Steve H]

I don't exactly approve of prostitution, but provided it is fully consensual on both sides, I don't think either the prostitute or her (or his) client should be criminalised. That, however, is a bit off-topic. Obviously sex-trafficking should be illegal, with heavy penalties.

[Harrowby Hall]

Perhaps using an unlicensed service could be criminalised as a way forward.

I think that this would be a good move.