The total number of prostitutes in the UK is not exactly known and difficult to estimate. In 2009, the authorities and NGOs estimated that about 100,000 people were involved in prostitution in the country. [6] A study published in 2015 found that there were approximately 72,800 sex workers in the UK; 88% were female, 6% were male, and 4% were transgender. [7] According to a 2009 study by TAMPEP, 41% of all prostitutes in the UK were foreigners; In London, however, that percentage was 80%. The total number of migrant prostitutes was significantly lower than in other Western countries (such as Spain and Italy, where the proportion of all migrant prostitutes was 90%). Migrant prostitutes came from Central Europe 43%, Baltic States 10%, Eastern Europe 7%, Balkans 4%, other EU countries 16%, Latin America 10%, Asia 7%, Africa 2%, North America 1%. Thirty-five different countries of origin have been identified. [8] According to the Office for National Statistics, prostitution contributed £5.3 billion to the UK economy in 2009. [9] In 2015, HMRC set up a “Special Working Group on Adult Entertainment” to collect unpaid income tax, among others, from online escort agencies. [10] The Police and Crime Act 2009 (as well as the Sexual Offences Act 2003) replaced most aspects of the previous legislation relating to prostitution, although the previous laws are still in force. Working privately as a prostitute is not a crime, nor is it illegal as a visiting escort, nor is it illegal for prostitutes to sell sexual services in a brothel, provided they are not involved in the management or control of the brothel. [73] [74] However, street prostitution is illegal.
She and other sex workers want decriminalisation in the UK because they believe it would give them the same legal protection and access to workers` rights as in other industries. Until 2015, the offence was to cause, incite, control, mediate or facilitate child prostitution. In 2015, the UK government “passed legislation through the Serious Crimes Act 2015 to remove all references to `child prostitution` from the law to reflect the true nature of this activity as sexual exploitation.” As part of these amendments, sections 47 to 50 “Child abuse through prostitution and pornography” were replaced by the offences of “sexual exploitation of children”. Child prostitution in the name no longer exists as a criminal offence in the United Kingdom, but its legal language has nevertheless been replaced by “sexual exploitation of children”, which remains a criminal offence. [77] [78] Victorian morality regarded prostitution as a terrible evil, for young women, for men, and for society as a whole. One of the first laws introduced in Victorian times to restrict prostitution was the City Police Clauses Act of 1847, which criminalized ordinary prostitutes to gather in any “public resort” such as a coffee shop. [43] “People have told me that we support women and move away from a very draconian system where women are punished by the police,” Dobson says. “Actually, the amnesty is clearly for men, but I don`t see anything tangible that has been done on the other side of the equation to get women out of prostitution.” The managed approach was launched by Leeds City Council in 2014 after research revealed that efforts to reduce prostitution were not working. Sex trafficking in the UK takes various forms, including street prostitution, escort prostitution and prostitution from premises. The spaces used include massage parlors, saunas, private apartments and soho walk-ups.
In 2003, plainclothes police visited the Spearmint Rhino dance club on Tottenham Court Road in London, claiming it was a front for prostitution. [11] In 2008, a study by the Poppy Project found brothels in all 33 boroughs of London. Westminster had the highest number with 71, compared to 8 in Southwark. For this study, the researchers posed as potential customers and called 921 brothels that had advertised in local newspapers. Researchers have estimated that brothels generate between £50 million and £130 million a year. Many brothels were operated by legitimate businesses licensed to be saunas or massage parlors. However, the vast majority of them were in private homes located in residential areas. The report found 77 different ethnicities among the prostitutes, many of whom came from regions such as Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. [12] The study has been called “the most comprehensive study ever conducted in British brothels,” but its methodology has been criticized and rejected by activists and academic studies. [13] [14] [15] Brothels in the UK are often small; Cari Mitchell, who spoke for the English Collective of Prostitutes in 2008, said that “most brothels are quietly run by two or three women, sometimes with a receptionist, or a woman, usually a former sex worker, employing two or three other people.” [16] There were 55 brothel business criminal incidents in 2013/2014 and 96 in 2014/2015. [17] In 2017, it was reported that some properties were rented for short periods as “pop-up” brothels, sometimes in remote areas.
[18] [19] Sexual Purchasers Act. is based on the premise that prostitution is morally reprehensible and should therefore be illegal, whereas the law currently makes no such moral judgment. The Buyers of Sexual Services Act makes no distinction between prostitution that takes place between two consenting adults and prostitution that involves exploitation. Much of the rhetoric also denies sex workers the opportunity to speak for themselves and make their own decisions. We are not yet convinced that the Sex Buyers Act would be effective in reducing demand or improving the lives of sex workers. On the other side of the debate, there are others who argue that prostitution is a matter of personal choice between consenting adults. Therefore, it is not a matter of the state or criminal law. For Basis, the advantage of the zone is that women are no longer arrested and stigmatized, have better access to their services and can be helped find alternatives to prostitution. But what about the players? The Wolfenden Committee views prostitution and its status in law as a moral issue, which is reflected in the text of the Sexual Offences Act 1956. This led to famous debates between Lord Devlin and the philosopher Herbert Hart. The report recommends stricter controls on street prostitution, which are implemented in the Street Offences Act 1959. But at night, this industrial area becomes something completely different.
It is turning into the UK`s first designated red zone, where street prostitution takes place openly between 8pm and 6am, without women or sex buyers being prosecuted. Currently, there are a number of different legal frameworks around the world regarding prostitution. The three most frequently cited are: The ECP is a network of sex workers, mostly women, who work both on the streets and indoors, advocating for decriminalization and safety. We struggle to be treated like criminals. We`ve helped sex workers win charges of recruitment, brothel keeping and control – the latter two more often against women who work together for safety reasons. Most sex workers are mothers who do their best for their children. We fight against austerity cuts and for housing and other survival resources so that each of us can leave prostitution whenever and whenever we want. A 2004 survey of street sex workers found that the average age to enter prostitution was 21. [23] In March 2015, the University of Leeds, funded by the Wellcome Trust, published one of the UK`s largest surveys of prostitutes.
It found that 71% of prostitutes had previously worked in health, social services, education, childcare or charities, and 38% had a bachelor`s degree. [24] A study published by Swansea University in March 2015 found that nearly 5% of UK students were involved in sex work in one capacity or another, including prostitution. Most students entered sex work to cover living expenses (two-thirds) and pay off debt (45%). [25] [26] Approximately 70% of sex workers were internal workers. [24] Infectious disease laws were introduced in the 1860s and adopted the French system of licensed prostitution in an effort to minimize sexually transmitted diseases. Prostitutes were subject to mandatory checks for venereal diseases and imprisoned until they were cured. Young women officially became prostitutes and were trapped in the system for life. After a national crusade led by Josephine Butler, legalized prostitution was stopped in 1886 and Butler became something of a savior for the girls she freed.