Decriminalize Private Consenting Adult sexwork, not
public nuisance street hookersU.K.
New crackdown on street prostitution
U.K. Plan for licensed 'red light' zones ditched in favour of
zero-tolerance strategy
December 28, 2005
(Dave notes, as in most of the world except the U.S., outcall
prostitution has always been legal in the U. K., but incalls are limited
to one gal in a flat. The issue here as in most of the world is public
nuisance street hookers - yet the major sexwork organizations continue
to fight their lost cause for street hookers instead of respecting the
public not to have it in their face and supporting liberalizing the laws
for private consenting adult sexworkers, not street hookers.)
Guardian
The government will announce plans next month for a national zero
tolerance campaign against kerb crawlers (johns picking up girls on the
streets) and street prostitution after shelving plans to introduce
licensed "red light" zones, the Guardian has learned. The proposals are
expected to form a key part of the next phase of Tony Blair's drive
against antisocial behaviour. Kerb crawlers will risk having their
driving licences confiscated and being named and shamed in local
newspapers.
The Home Office minister Fiona Mactaggart told the Guardian that it was
wrong to regard those involved in prostitution as sex workers. She said
tough measures were needed to tackle the markets for prostitution. "I'm
not tolerant of the view that prostitution is the oldest profession in
the world and there's nothing we can do to reduce it," she said.
"Prostitution blights communities. We will take a zero tolerance
approach to kerb crawling. Men who choose to use (street) prostitutes
are indirectly supporting drug dealers and abusers. The power to
confiscate driving licences already exists. We want the police to use
that power more."
The police are expected to be encouraged to set up safe houses and other
schemes to help the women involved get out of the trade. Greater efforts
will also be made to close brothels masquerading as massage parlours and
saunas. Ministers are expected to rule out overhauling the 50-year-old
prostitution laws, a decision that spells the end for plans floated by
the previous home secretary, David Blunkett, 18 months ago to give local
authorities discretion to set up tolerance zones, small licensed
brothels and a register of prostitutes.
Cities such as Liverpool have been pressing hard to be given the power
to set up these legal zones. Ms Mactaggart, however, said effective
policing rather than an overhaul of the laws was the answer.
The Home Office estimates 80,000 people are involved in the vice trade
and 95% of those working on the streets are using heroin or crack.
However, the number of women cautioned for soliciting fell from 3,323 in
1993 to 732 in 2000. Middlesbrough is responsible for 25% of all
national convictions for kerb crawling, and ministers want to see its
zero tolerance campaign replicated. "Prostitution has been allowed to
slip off the agenda somewhat. I want to ensure our good work on
trafficking is joined-up with a prostitution strategy that helps women
out of prostitution but also deals with the demand for prostitutes," Ms
Mactaggart said.
Update
12/29/05 Sheffield Today Newspaper
Police have the power to confiscate driving licences from kerbcrawlers
and the Government wants officers to use that power even more. Inspector
Shaun Morley, of Sheffield's City Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team, said
Sheffield and Doncaster already had a tough "three strikes and you're
out" policy on driving licences.
"On the first offence, a kerb-crawler will receive an acceptable
behaviour contract drawn up between them and the police where they are
asked to make a pledge to stop," he said.
"If they re-offend we ask for an anti-social behaviour order to ban them
from kerb crawling. "If they offend a third time, we ask magistrates to
take away their licence "We believe this is a very fair process." The
Government wants police to set up safe houses and other schemes to help
women get out of the trade. Insp Morley said: "We already work very
closely with voluntary agencies to provide support to young women and we
do take every opportunity to dissuade or help them out of prostitution.
Canada
Eliminating street hooker prostitution laws won't protect prostitutes,
won't protect communities, community group warns MPs in Canada where
Prostitution is legal but only outcalls and not street hookers, incalls
or agencies. But lots of street hooker groups want street hookers
decriminalized. This takes away from the more important task of
liberalizing the position on incalls and agencies which has almost no
community opposition. OTTAWA, March 22, 2005 /CNW Telbec/ - Eliminating
laws against prostitution will leave both communities and the most
vulnerable women in society at the mercy of johns, the Hintonburg
Community Association (HCA) will warn MPs tomorrow in Ottawa.
At a presentation before the House of Commons sub-committee on
solicitation laws, the HCA will outline its nearly 15-year battle with
street prostitution, and the terrible toll that drugs and prostitution
have taken on parts of its community. "Eliminating current prostitution
laws won't give women who are ill, homeless and addicted to hard drugs
any safer options than they have now. But, removing prostitution laws
will give carte blanche to predatory men to roam our streets, and the
streets of the many communities across Canada we work with that are in
similar situations," says Jeff Leiper, president of the HCA.
The HCA is frustrated that Parliamentarians are considering elimination
of prostitution laws without discussion about the real work that needs
to be done to make the lives of women safer: identification of children
at risk; adequate detox beds; substance abuse programs; supportive
housing; and, training and financial assistance to help women escape the
violent trap of street prostitution. "Removing laws designed to protect
both women and communities from the effects of street prostitution would
be an abdication of responsibility by Ottawa without the difficult
corresponding work of building a social safety net that provides women
with options," Leiper says.
"The measure may make it easy for MPs to congratulate each other for
thinking they've solved the problem, but the burden of violence will be
downloaded to communities that are stripped of protection, to women who
continue to work the streets outside legal systems, and by overstretched
municipalities ordered to run unworkable registration schemes."
The HCA will make its presentation to the House committee on March 23 at
5:30 p.m. in the Centre Block. For more information about the reality of
street prostitution in residential communities, please see Dispelling
the Myths at www.hintonburg.com .
The Hintonburg Community Association is a not-for-profit volunteer group
that seeks to improve the quality of life in its community. It has over
600 paid members, and is active on issues including security,
development, arts and heritage, traffic, beautification, business
development, the environment, and special events.
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