A charity I am promoting which aims to abolish sex trafficking 
has praised Harriet Harman for her bravery in considering a ban on prostitution. I agree. It is an issue which has been badly fudged in the past.
Dr Carrie Pemberton, founder and CEO of CHASTE (Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking across Europe) firmly believes it is the question of demand that should be addressed, that paid-for-sex is the modern day slavery which most women are forced into and that it is the client who should be penalised, not the woman.
She has actively been lobbying the government on this and has met Harriet Harman to recommend the line she believes they should be taking, how the UK should adopt the Swedish model where legislation has been implemented to criminalise the buying of sex, and the buyer is prosecuted.
It is thought that most women end up as prostitutes because they are controlled by pimps, need to feed a drug habit or have been trafficked illegally. That’s why Carrie believes they need a supportive exit strategy so they can move on and find less abusive forms of employment.
These issues will be highlighted at a CHASTE conference called Tackling Demand for Human Trafficking which is being held on Thursday, 24 January at the International Headquarters of the Salvation Army, London. Speakers include senior representatives from the Swedish police and a representative from the nationwide police initiative, Pentameter 2 which has concentrated police efforts on unveiling the hidden abuse of trafficked women in brothels across the country, as well as sex trafficking experts from South Africa, Canada, Denmark and America.
CHASTE will next month launch a new book called the Real Scandal of Sex Trafficking which vividly describes the abuses which lie behind sex trafficking and a substantial proportion of the use of prostitution.
Please don’t be misled by the glamourisation of prostitution following the exploits of high class hooker Belle de Jour. The truth behind it is very seedy and dangerous for the women involved, you can read about it here if you need reminding.
Update 28 Dec: The Guardian’s comment is free does not believe this legislation can be enforced.
Which is why part of me wants it legalised – State registered brothels where willing women work in safe conditions, well lit places like ‘The Ranch’ with cameras on every entrance and a webcam in every camera so it is published who goes in and who goes out. And no others, anywhere.
But the other part of me knows that the whole sordid sex industry is just wrong, just exploitation.
I don’t think there would be such a problem if the powers that be gained control of our borders once more.
I’m afraid I don’t believe this problem will ever go away and although I think prostitution is morally wrong, it probably would be better for everyone in the long run to legalize it and get control of it that way. Even then these other problems would not go away.
Why shouldn’t a woman willingly sell her body? OK, you find it revolting – so what? It’s not your body.
Who here thinks they should be able to decide what an adult does with their own bodies, and why do you think you have such a right?
Anon, The point is that the majority of women are forced into this and do not do it voluntarily. Who is there for them?
For example:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2547626.ece
and
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3048779.ece
Ellee,
Do you have any evidence to suggest that the majority of women involved in prostitution are forced into it?
There are those who are forced into it, but many aren’t. They do it as a lifestyle choice – whether to better the lives of themselves or their families. This is why parallels with slavery are specious – whilst some workers are forced into it, many aren’t.
So, what we should try to do is to create a trade that allows those who choose to work in it to continue, whilst those who do not wish to should be protected and their captors prosecuted.
Legalisation and licensing is a way to protect those who have been trafficked, because it tries to ensure that those working have not been trafficked, by regular inspections of premises and workers.
Create a simple licensing regime that allows workers to go off-premises and be interviewed and checked, and the only people working without a license will be those involved in slavery. This makes prosecution much simpler.
Banning the trade will do no good. No trade between 2 willing parties has ever been made better by banning it.
The salient word here is ‘trafficking’. With proper border controlls we wouldn’t have ‘trafficking’. Uncontrolled immigration is not about freedom – it is about importing slavery.
All that modern politicians have done is to dismantle a protective enclave in which people were freed from slavery. Well I could have done that at a fraction of the price.
It doesn’t take a highly qualified vet to make fish soup out of an aquarium.
I agree with HH and Chaste.
I agree with you that there is a need to stop this abuse of our children. One of the ways is to provide a nurturing, caring, safe environment for the children while they are young. That way, they will not be desperate and vulnerable when they get older.
That is why Food for Orphans helps orphan caregivers provide a safe home for orphans. Food for orphans provides one of the most needed commodities, food, so that the orphnas will continue to grow up in a safe home.
Gary VanDyke
Food for Orphans
http://www.FoodforOrphans.org
An international 501c3 charity
It’s quite preposterous that the Government could possibly cut demand. Have Government bans on knives and guns cut crime rates!?! If the Government is unable to prevent people trafficking, why will it be able to stop this!?! Is the Government sending women back to Eastern Europe in disgrace to warn other young women about the horrors of trafficking and the fate that can befall them or showering ‘rescued’ women with compensation and leave to remain in the UK?
Anyu ban will merely drive prostitution further underground exposing such women to even more danger than they are in now. It could even drive up the number of rapes as some men become more desperate. It would be far better and safer for all concerned if brothels were legalised. What’s wrong with two consenting adults coming to a commercial arrangement!?!
Are some Swedish men crossing the border to satisfy their demands!?!
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