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The HASC notes that pretty much everyone – from abolitionists to sex workers themselves – at least nominally agrees that those selling sex, the workers, should not be criminalised. Sex workers have been shouting 'til they're blue in the face that working alone is dangerous and that being slapped with a civil order or criminal record simply traps them in the industry.The HASC report recommends that "at the earliest opportunity, the Home Office change existing legislation so that soliciting is no longer an offence and so that brothel-keeping provisions allow sex workers to share premises, without losing the ability to prosecute those who use brothels to control or exploit sex workers."In fact, maybe the whole industry should be decriminalised
Sex worker-led organisations around the globe are calling for full decriminalisation of the industry. As a legal model that prioritises the rights of sex workers, decrim has been backed by Amnesty and a load of other NGOs and health authorities. The HASC is tentatively supportive, suggesting more investigation is needed but conceding that evidence for the model's success exists.
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The abolitionist lobby, which believes that sex buyers (AKA sex workers' clients) should be criminalised, made a number of high profile submissions to the inquiry. But after reviewing evidence from Sweden and Norway, where the law already exists, the HASC says it is not yet convinced that the law is effective in "reducing demand or in improving the lives of sex workers, either in terms of the living conditions for those who continue to work in prostitution or the effectiveness of services to help them find new ways to earn a living."Further to that, it added: "There are indications that the law can be misused to harass and victimise sex workers, who are the very people whom the law is seeking to protect."The HASC was critical of people who want to abolish sex work
The abolitionist lobby has clout: a group called End Demand was this year commissioned by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution to produce a report into the law, something it managed with a panel that contained not a single current sex worker.
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This may seem obvious but selling sex is not the same thing as being trafficked from abroad by exploitative organised criminals. But in the murky depths of debate, the two are frequently conflated. The HASC draws a clear distinction and suggests directing efforts of help towards those who actually need it.
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In its submission to the inquiry, End Demand claimed that "approximately 50 percent of women in prostitution in the UK started being paid for sex acts before they were 18 years old". This statistic has been endlessly discredited, but the HASC was obliged to do so again, quoting the sex work support service, National Ugly Mugs: "Much of the research is old (six of the nine sources are pre 1999, and the report itself is 12 years old), the sample sizes of the sources vary and at least one source only had participants under the age of 18, offering a foregone conclusion."The report supports the Children Society's recommendation that the government develop guidance for the police and local authorities on how young people identified as being victims of child sexual exploitation should be looked after.We need more data
It may seem as though there are gobby sex workers talking about their lives every time you venture online, but it's fair to say that only a small number are in a position to be "out"; most exist in a state of extreme paranoia about being discovered. When talking about your job could mean anything from being disowned by your family to ending up in jail, this is understandable.
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The HASC is recommending that the Home Office commissions further, in-depth research. In the meantime, the report's urgent calls for an end to the criminalisation of sex workers are vital and are being welcomed by sex worker-led organisations across the UK.It's hard to say how the situation will unfold. Sex work is an emotive subject and those on both sides of the debate passionately believe they're right. The reality is, we're still a long way from lifting the danger and stigma of sex work. Sex workers' issues are enmeshed with migrant's issues, women's issues, trans issues, race, class, poverty. Decriminalisation is a holy grail but, while borders slam closed and frontline services are cut, its glow will be dimmed.@frankiemullinMore like this from VICE:Sex Workers Tell Us What Their Ideal Brothels Would Look LikePhotos from One of Berlin's Oldest Red Light DistrictsParliament's New Sex Work Inquiry Looks Like a Witch Hunt