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See other news storiesNew rules to protect exploited women
19 November 2008
Tough new measures will tackle the demand for prostitution by cracking down on sex buyers and kerb crawlers.
The announcement of the new rules came as part of a review into how best to tackle the demand for prostitution.
The six-month review, published this week, looked at what more could be done to protect women who are exploited for sexual gain. It explored both legislative and non-legislative options, and drew from the experiences of other countries with similar issues, such as Sweden and Holland.
As a result of the review, the government has decided to run national campaigns to raise awareness of the realities of human trafficking, and the legal problems facing those who frequent prostitutes.
Creating new offences
A new offence will be created to encourage men to think twice before paying for sex, and to protect women who have been forced into prostitution and those who are held against their will.
The change in the law will make sex buyers liable for prosecution, even if they didn’t know the prostitute they visited was controlled by a pimp or had been trafficked. Those convicted could end up with a criminal record and a £1,000 fine.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, 'I want to do everything we can to protect the thousands of vulnerable women coerced, exploited or trafficked into prostitution in our country, and to bring those who take advantage of them to justice.
'That is why I am determined to shift the focus onto the sex buyer, the person responsible for creating the demand for prostitution markets, which in turn creates demand for the vile trade of women being trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Substantial change needed
The government believes the changes are needed in order to deter sex customers who fuel illegal exploitation and human trafficking.
Currently, police can only charge would-be customers who solicit prostitutes persistently, or in a manner that causes annoyance for people in the neighbourhood.
The government now intends to remove the 'persistence' and 'annoyance' requirements from the rules, making it possible to prosecute kerb crawlers the first time they're noticed.
The Home Secretary said, 'In my book, once around the block is once too many, and so I’m making kerb-crawling punishable as a first offence. I also want to see more naming and shaming of persistent kerb crawlers.'
Dr Timothy Brain of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the changes to the law should make potential sex customers think twice.
'Any man who intends to pay for sex with a prostitute will have to think very carefully, because it will be no defence in future to claim that they did not know someone was trafficked or controlled by someone else for gain,' he said.
Find out more
Read the review into tackling the demand for prostitution.
