Paying the price
Affinity (formerly the British Evangelical Council, founded in 1952) is a network of evangelical denominations, church groupings and independent causes. Representing approximately 1,200 congregations, it is probably the largest association of exclusively Bible-centred churches in the UK.
We greatly welcome the emphasis that the Consultation document Paying the Price gives to the fact that prostitution involves the exploitation of many of the most vulnerable members of our society.
Our comments below are based on four principles which we consider to be important in any consideration of the issues surrounding prostitution. These are:
- Prostitution is a moral evil, contrary to God’s pattern for the responsible, orderly and happy life of individuals and society.
- It is the duty of those in authority to seek to eradicate evils from society, even if they cannot wholly succeed in this aim.
- In a fallen world, children and young people need to be protected from those who would exploit them, and, because of their immaturity, also from themselves.
- One of society’s responsibilities is to endeavour to create safe, pleasant, and happy neighbourhoods and communities.
Our submission consists therefore of comments on those questions in the Consultation which bear upon these principles. In order to make our response easier to follow, we have set out the observations we wish to make in the order the questions come in the Consultation.
1. Protecting children and young people (questions 6-9)
1.1 We appreciate and welcome the commitment of the government to oppose all sexual exploitation of children.
1.2 As part of the PSHE curriculum in schools, young people should be alerted to all the detrimental effects of prostitution, including the exploitation and unhappiness of its individual victims, and the adverse effects upon neighbourhoods and communities. They should also be warned about the ways in which they might personally be drawn into sexual exploitation, such as flattery, attractive offers or promises, and other forms of ‘grooming’ - in person or over the internet. They also need to be taught the full impact of the drug culture and the danger of drug dependency and the health breakdown and social and financial ruin which inevitably results.
1.3 Attention should be given to the needs of children in residential care who may be seen to lack parental supervision or protection, and therefore easier prey to those who would seek to exploit them. Discussion in their care environments, as well as plenty of well-managed wholesome social contact, needs to be encouraged.
1.4 The additional protection given to children and young people under 18 by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 is welcome, but all law is only effective to the extent of its actual use as an instrument of social justice and discipline. Nothing will protect children and young people more than the effective monitoring of the activities and effects of the sex trade, the determined prosecution of offenders at all levels, and the passing of appropriate sentences. If the authorities are not vigilant and rigorous, this will encourage the proliferation of potentially harmful activity, and make it more likely that those unchecked at the lower end of the spectrum will move on to more serious offences. Those abusing young people need to be aware that prosecution is a real risk. Increased numbers of convictions greatly help to raise this awareness.
2. Rehabilitation of young people involved in prostitution (question 10)
Additional funding is needed to enable appropriate agencies to employ well-qualified people who can focus on the specific needs of young people involved in prostitution, winning their trust and confidence, and referring them to other particular sources of help as the circumstances require.
3. Drugs and prostitution (question 15)
3.1 Since the drug culture is much wider than the sex industry, all its implications need to be addressed separately in a variety of medical, educational and social contexts. However, it is clear that in some cases young women take up prostitution in order to fund their own drug habit or that of someone close to them.
3.2 We suggest that statistical research is carried out to establish the degree of link between drugs and prostitution, and that efforts are then made to break the link by means of tailored advice and support for those whose only motive for involvement in the sex trade is to finance a drug habit. If only financial necessity has drawn them into prostitution, they may not need much persuading out of it if their drug problems can be solved in other ways. This is one of those instances where one well-structured support programme has the opportunity to deal with two evils at once, and at no extra cost.
3.3 Out of our concern for the harm and misery caused by drug abuse, we welcome any efforts to work with and rehabilitate those affected by it.
4. The operation of justice to protect the victims of exploitation (question 20)
4.1 Although the nature of current legislation is an important issue, as it conveys society’s view and attitude to the sex trade and to conduct and practices within it, we cannot stress too strongly that the value and impact of current legislation cannot be judged by its written provisions, but only by the extent to which it is enforced. There is ample law in place to address the social evil and personal exploitation of the sex trade: the test is whether there is sufficient will and resources to use it rigorously.
4.2 As we have said in 1.4, nothing will protect the actual and potential victims of the sex trade more effectively than the determined prosecution of offenders at all levels. This will not only be a significant deterrent to offenders, but it will also give the right signals to potential offenders and to society at large about how the sex trade, and the harm it does to individuals and communities, is regarded.
4.3 The whole of the relevant law - very helpfully set out in Annexes A and B of Paying the Price - should be used to challenge the activities of prostitutes, clients and pimps. The criminal statistics in Annex B are extremely disturbing, in that they show that prosecutions for sex trade offences are now a much lower priority in police strategy than they were in 1990. This slackening of determination on the part of the police will lend credence to the idea that while technically offences, the practices of the sex trade are not really regarded as serious crime. This laissez faire attitude is bound to be counter-productive, encouraging the organised sex trade to recruit and exploit new victims, while doing nothing to relieve the distress caused to residents of “red light” neighbourhoods.
4.4 The Home Office must make it unequivocally clear that it expects the police to take seriously laws which have been introduced to support a decency of public order, and to protect and discipline participants in the sale of sex.
5. Supporting communities and reclaiming neighbourhoods (question 24)
5.1 Although there are many individual victims in the sex trade who need sympathy, help and rehabilitation, it needs to be remembered that the residents of a “red light” district who are not involved in prostitution, are also its victims, in two ways:
- They are intimidated by the visible presence and behaviour of prostitutes and kerb crawlers on their local streets, and also by the risk of unwanted contact with them.
- The fact that prostitution exists in a neighbourhood makes it a less pleasant place to live, reduces house values, and deters people from moving to the area who might have a beneficial contribution to make, including the commercial providers of useful social amenities.
5.2 Some of our churches are situated in inner city areas in or near “red light” districts, and share this sense of intimidation and neighbourhood downgrade.
5.3 We propose that the following action is considered in order to reclaim “red light” neighbourhoods from those plying the sex trade:
- Implement a thorough and determined policing policy which will substantially remove prostitutes and kerb-crawlers from the streets either by arrest or by the deterrent effect of visible policing. A constant police presence will encourage and comfort the ordinary residents of a “red light” neighbourhood, and discourage both sex-related and unrelated crime.
- Consult with local residents and organisations, including churches, asking them how they view the proximity of the sex trade, and what are its main effects upon the organisation’s activities, and the individual lives of organisation members. Ask them what they think could be done to remove or mitigate the adverse impact the trade has upon them, and what, if anything, they or other volunteers might be able to do to help rehabilitate those involved in the trade.
- Put in place a rehabilitation programme staffed by skilled personnel from reliable welfare agencies who would make contact with prostitutes and help them to sever their links with the sex trade (see Section 3).
6. Trafficking (questions 29-31)
Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a significant level of trafficking of women and children from abroad for prostitution. This can only be curbed by more effective and rigorous implementation of immigration procedures and an efficient system of subsequent monitoring.
7. Street-based adult prostitution - accept or challenge (question 32)
We are strongly opposed to any new legislation which legalises prostitution, whether this “legalised” activity takes the form of allowing prostitution in controlled zones, or decriminalising particular aspects of the sex trade process. The implications of any such legalisation would be:
- It would sanction an activity which is morally wrong and unacceptable, and such approval or permission would therefore be detrimental to the interests of those participating in it, or affected by it.
- It would give the impression that the primary duty of the government was to provide ways of enabling individuals who want to do so to buy and sell sex, whereas its real primary duty is to establish an environment in which individuals and families can live peaceably, and communities flourish on the basis of mutual respect and shared values.
- It would be a statement that the criminal law is incapable of dealing with the problem of the sex trade, whereas the truth is that its goals are attainable, but it hasn’t been used to the extent required to achieve them.
- Any legalised prostitution will still involve the actual or potential exploitation of some of those participating in the approved sex trade activities.
- Even legally purchased sex has to take place somewhere, and the areas chosen will always be in or near to residential areas, thus continuing to bring risk and damage to neighbourhoods and their residents. The difference in the new circumstances would be that the activity was legal, and therefore the residents would have no power to do anything about it.
- However tight the conditions imposed on any permitted arrangements for the purchase of sex, there would still be a need for vigilant police activity to ensure that the terms were not being flouted. Depending on the precise nature of the permitted arrangements, there would also always be informal peripheral activity, whether purporting to be connected with the approved activities or not, which would cause additional nuisance.
- Given that it has legal approval, the conduct of the participants involved in the activities of a sex trade venue, whether public or private, could be much more brazen, further adversely affecting the quality of life in the district involved.
Submitted by Ian Herring on behalf of the Social Issues Team
Affinity, P O Box 2119, Reading RG1 7WS Tel. 023 8046 6235
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