We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to criminalise the purchase of sexual services so as to curb demand for prostitution and reduce sex trafficking; to decriminalise the sale of sex, and to fund services to help women exit prostitution and secure alternative employment.”
Details of Petition:
“Many women first become involved in prostitution as young teenagers, and the use of violence is common in recruiting women and girls into prostitution.
Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation is now one of the most profitable forms of organised crime. Because of the profits to be made from controlling prostitution, it will continue as long as there is a demand for it. The only effective way to prevent the abuses involved in prostitution is therefore to target demand. Swedish legislation criminalising the purchase of sexual services, and providing for support services for those wishing to exit prostitution, has led to an estimated 30-50% reduction in the numbers of women in prostitution in Sweden since its introduction in 1999, and to a significant decrease in trafficking of women into Sweden. The Swedish legislation was accompanied by public education campaigns about the nature of prostitution. Polls indicate that over 80% of the Swedish population now support this legislation.”
· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
Thank you for your e-petition on the need to tackle the demand for prostitution.
Reducing the demand for prostitution is one of the key aims of the Government’s Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking and the Government’s Co-ordinated Prostitution Strategy.
Last year, in order to develop this broad aim into specific measures, the Government launched a review to explore what action could be taken in order to reduce demand for prostitution. The Review’s findings were published on 19 November 2008 in the report “Tackling the Demand for Prostitution: A Review”, and included an assessment of measures in place in other European countries.
The Review concluded that there was evidence to support the creation of a new offence to criminalise those who are found to be paying for sex with a person who is being controlled for someone else’s gain. It is proposed that the new offence should be a strict liability offence, so that it will be irrelevant whether the sex buyer knew that the prostitute was controlled or not.
The Review also recommended measures that will allow the police to seek orders to close down premises where sexual exploitation has taken place, and the running of a marketing campaign with the aim of raising awareness among sex-buyers of the realities of prostitution and human trafficking.
The Government has committed to implementing these recommendations as soon as possible, and they are included in the Policing and Crime Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on 18 December 2008.
delicious
digg
facebook
