sex, men, and the working girl

The 'oldest profession' is thriving as much now as it is ever has, according to latest figures. The 2005 government review of British laws on prostitution estimated that 80,000 women are involved in prostitution, with 25,000 working in brothels. Meanwhile data released this July (08) after the largest ever police crack-down on people smuggling indicates there are up to 18,000 females, including girls as young as 14, working in brothels across Britain after being smuggled into the country to meet the booming demand for prostitutes. Operation Pentameter 2, a six-month campaign by police forces across the country, revealed that nearly five times more women than previously thought are working under duress in massage parlours and suburban homes.

image to accompany feature
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The campaign, which saw the arrest of 528 suspected traffickers and the closure of 822 brothels and premises being used to sell sexual services, also revealed an increasing use of young British women, who are trafficked within the UK after being groomed by older men who lure them to towns away from their homes. The Home Office highlighted one recent case in Sheffield where 33 victims had been recruited by men in public places and taken away for sexual exploitation.

Most victims are foreign, with least 85 per cent of the women working as prostitutes coming from countries including Brazil, China, Lithuania and Thailand. Many victims are lured to Britain with false promises of work in bars or nightclubs only to be sold for up to £5,000, often at airports or service stations, to pimps and brothel-keepers. The women are then set quotas of the number of men they must have sex with each week, working for little or nothing under threat of violence against their families.

Prostitution and people-trafficking is now the third most lucrative black-market trade in the world after gun-running and drugs-smuggling, driven by growing demand for prostitutes in the UK, with websites promoting sex flourishing and even local newspapers carrying advertisements for prostitutes. One 2002 report from the universities of East Anglia and Manchester estimated that the annual spend on prostitution in the UK is a staggering £770 million pounds, with the average price paid for a session being £50.

No doubt many of the men who pay for sex are perfectly happy with the exchange, but for some the transaction is not as simple as it might seem. This is true for most of the men who posted questions to our 'just ask' service in the past. Read their questions, and the advice given by our advisors, below.

Is prostitution actually legal in Britain?

Strictly speaking, prostitution has always been legal in the UK, in the sense that it is not illegal to pay for sex, or to receive money for it. But many of the activities that it involves – including soliciting, pimping, keeping a brothel, and kerb-crawling – are all against the law. In 1992 the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Sir Allan Green, was caught kerb-crawling and subsequently resigned. Under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 a similar situation exists north of the border, with prostitution itself not illegal but associated activities are, where offences are not imprisonable butsubject to a fine of up to £500. The 1982 Act also gives local councils the power to issue licences to premises for public entertainment, historically used by Edinburgh city council for 'saunas'. And while previously not an offence, following the Prostitution (Public Places) Act 2007, kerb crawling in Scotland can now be penalised with a fine of up to £1,000.

What's the Government's position?

There has been long and widespread debate as to whether the toleration of prostitution similar to that seen in The Netherlands and Germany should be extended. Local police forces have historically wavered between zero tolerance of prostitution and unofficial red light districts.

In January 2006 the Government announced that in England and Wales it was considering allowing small brothels, whilst continuing the crackdown against kerb-crawling. However, whilst there has been a ramping up of activity against on and off street prostitution by the police, the promised legalisation of mini brothels has failed to materialise.

Recently, government ministers including Harriet Harman have suggested that rather than permitting mini brothels, they would like to tackle the "demand side" of prostitution by criminalising the buyer of sex. They point to Sweden where purchasing sexual services has been a criminal offence since 1999, in which time the number of prostitutes has dropped from 2,500 to around 150. However, critics such as the English Collective of Prostitutes (www.prostitutescollective.net) have said that criminalisation of clients is counterproductive and undermines the safety of sex workers.

What's the answer?

In the UK, more than half of prostitutes have been raped or sexually assaulted and sex workers are 18 times more likely to be murdered. Three-quarters have been physically assaulted, 95% are drug users, and 90% want to get out. Nearly 70% meet the criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder, in the same range as victims of torture and combat veterans. Brian Tobin, director of the Iceni project which has helped most of Ipswich's sex workers off the streets following the Steve Wright Ipswich murders in 2006, argues that 'with street prostitution, as with burglaries, gun crime, shop-lifting, all that underpins them is drug use. Unless we effectively manage drug use in this country, everything else is fire-fighting'. Roger Matthews, professor of criminology at London's South Bank University and author of Prostitution, Politics and Policy (£24.99, Routledge Cavendish) says punters should be deterred from buying sex, women in prostitution should be decriminalised, and a radical welfare strategy should be put in place to help them out of the trade. 'You can't remove the abuse and coercion from prostitution, whether legal or not,' he says, so 'the answer is to clamp down on the punters, while helping the women to get out and stay out.'

easier to pay?

One common reason men gave for having sex with prostitutes was a problem with finding a girlfriend.

For 26-year-old Gareth the difficulty seemed to stem from his shyness in the company of women. Our 'just ask' advisor was able to offer some suggestions for building his confidence.

Another, older, man had been through a divorce and was considering visiting a prostitute after a long period without a sexual partner. But he was worried about the risks involved.

too risky?

Concern about the risk of picking up a sexually transmitted infection (STI) is probably the most common issue in questions about having sex with a prostitute.

Tom, 17, was worried that a blow job from a prostitute might have put him at risk of STIs.

Anthony had seen several prostitutes and, although he had always used a condom, he too was concerned about STIs. He was particularly worried about HIV.

paying away

Some men have their first – perhaps only – experience of paying for sex while they are abroad. We've answered a number of questions from men about prostitution in perhaps the most well-known European destination for the sex tourist – Amsterdam. Once again the main worry is the risk of STIs.

22-year-old Craig was worried for a friend of his whose partner had visited a prostitute in Amsterdam. He had been told that sex workers in The Netherlands are forced to have regular screening for STIs.

One young man seemed overwhelmed by the fear that an encounter with a prostitute in Amsterdam, three years before, might have left him with HIV.

the other half

These last two questions touch on the effect that a visit to a working girl can have on the client's other relationships. Nearly all of the questions from women have been about their feelings on finding out what their boyfriend has been up to.

Catherine, 18, is having trouble trusting her boyfriend after finding out that he had visited a prostitute early on in their relationship.

Lorna and her boyfriend had been together for three years when she found out he had paid for sex. One thing she is struggling with is the fact that he does not seem to take her feelings seriously.

help and info

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organisations

All Women Count (incorporating The English Collective of Prostitutes)
230a Kentish Town Road
London NW5 2AB
Tel: 020 7482 2496
E-mail: allwomencount@crossroadswomen.net
Website: www.allwomencount.net
Resources and support for women of any background, profession, race or sexual orientation.

Brook
421 Highgate Studios
53-79 Highgate Road
London NW5 1TL
Helpline: 0800 0185 023 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
E-mail: admin@brookcentres.org.uk
Website: www.brook.org.uk
Provides free and confidential sexual health advice and contraception for anyone under 25. The website has tons of useful information including a secure on-line enquiry service and a text messaging service.

ChildLine
Freepost 1111
London N1 0BR
Helpline: 0800 11 11 (24 hours)
Textphone: 0800 400 222
Website: www.childline.org.uk
UK's free, 24-hour helpline for children and young people. Trained volunteer counsellors provide comfort, advice and protection. Lines can be busy so please try again if you don't get through the first time. As well as the main helpline number above, ChildLine also run The Line which is a special helpline for any young person living away from home (e.g. if you live in a foster home or a children's home, if you're at boarding school or you've been in hospital for a long time). You can call The Line on 0800 88 44 44 from 3.30pm to 9.30pm on weekdays and 2pm to 8pm at weekends.

Get Connected
Tel: 0808 808 4994 (every day, 1pm-11pm)
E-mail: help@getconnected.org.uk
Website: www.getconnected.org.uk
Free UK wide, email and telephone helpline that finds young people the best help whatever their situation. Connects vulnerable young people under 25, particularly young runaways, to services across the UK which can help.

International Union of Sex Workers
c/o Membership GMB
Thorne House
152 Brent Street
London NW4 2DP
Tel: 07956 658223
E-mail: info@iusw.org
Website: www.iusw.org
Organisation campaigning for the decriminalisation of all aspects of sex work involving consenting adults. Offers legal support for sex workers who want to sue those who exploit their labour, access to health clinics and to training. They also have a page on Myspace: www.myspace.com/iusw.

POW Prostitute Outreach Workers
Support Line: 0115 978 1489
16 Independent Street
Radford
Nottingham NG7 3LNE
Website: www.pow-advice.co.uk
Provides a free, comprehensive, confidential, drop-in and outreach service to those involved, at risk of becoming involved or wishing to exit from prostitution and drug misuse. Services offered include delivery of condoms, provision of information and advice, and telephone support. The project is based in Nottingham but their services are also available to the wider community, particularly those affected by issues of prostitution.

Rape Crisis England and Wales
Helplines: individual helpline numbers listed by region on the website
E-mail: info@rapecrisis.org.uk (please check the website for the information you need before e-mailing)
Website: www.rapecrisis.org.uk
This website aims to provide the basic information that survivors of sexual violence, friends and family need to access the services they need. For details of rape crisis groups check the 'Centres' page.
For information on the Scottish office go to: www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk.

Relate
Appointment Line: 0300 100 1234 (call to make an appointment face to face or a telephone counselling session – line is open Mon to Thurs 8am to 9pm, Fri 8am to 5pm and Sat 9am to 5pm.
E-mail: enquiries@relate.org.uk
Website: www.relate.org.uk
The largest relationship counselling organisation in the UK. Offers counselling, psychosexual therapy, and other services to help those experiencing difficulties in any adult couple relationship. Some branches of Relate offer individual counselling to young people.

National Sexual Health Line
Tel: 0800 567 123 (24 hours every day)
NHS free and confidential helpline providing advice and information about STIs or any other aspect of sexual health. Can also tell you where to find local sexual health services.

SupportLine
PO Box 1596
Ilford
Essex IG1 3FW
Tel: 020 8554 9004 (opening hours vary, please ring for details)
E-mail: info@supportline.org.uk
Website: www.supportline.org.uk
A confidential telephone helpline offering emotional support to any individual on any issue. The helpline is primarily a preventative service and aims to support people before they reach the point of crisis. It is particularly aimed at those who are socially isolated, vulnerable, at risk groups and victims of any form of abuse.

websites

The Home Office – Prostitution Strategy
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-paying-the-price
Paying the Price: A Consultation Paper on Prostitution and a summary of responses.

British Humanist Association
www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentViewArticle.asp?article=1822
A response from the BHA to the above prostitution consultation paper.

Decriminalisation of Sex Industry is the Only Way to Protect Lives
www.greenparty.org.uk/news/3334
The Green Party condemns the current system that criminalises prostitution and pushes street sex workers further into danger.

Sex and Slavery
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/ ..
Observer article from 2003 reporting on estimates that 10,000 illegal immigrants are working as prostitutes in Britain today.

Street wiser
http://society.guardian.co.uk/ ..
Guardian feature about an innovative scheme in Sheffield to help prostitutes quit the game.

Society of Sexual Health Advisors
www.ssha.info/public/index.asp
Provides information on sexually transmitted infections and related conditions and provides sources of help and support.

Sweden's Radical Reform of the Law on Prostitution
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/2254164/
Sweden's-radical-reform-of-the-law-on-prostitution.html
Could the Swedish model of prostitution, where selling sex is legal, but paying for it is not - be introduced in Britain? The laws here are complex, but they could be about to change.

UK Law
www.sw5.info/law.htm
Sex workers' website with an interesting article on the laws on prostitution in the UK. Currently, prostitution per se in Britain is legal, but then there's a whole list of activities that are associated with it (such as brothels or soliciting) which are illegal. It's all very confusing.

A WI Lady's Guide To Brothels >>

(September 2002, resources updated August 2008)