Paying for sex to be criminal offence
Home Secretary plans to crack down on vice trade on the streets, while
lapdancing clubs will face a stringent licensing regime
* Gaby Hinsliff, political editor
* guardian.co.
* The Observer, Sunday November 16 2008
The Home Secretary has attacked the 'bizarre' practice of City firms
entertaining clients in lapdancing clubs, on the eve of a government
crackdown on the sex trade which is expected to criminalise most men who
use prostitutes.
Jacqui Smith said she expected to see some lapdancing clubs, which have
mushroomed in recent years, close and fewer new ones opened under
reforms triggered by concerns over a seedy culture of sexual titillation
creeping across city centres. She will outline plans this week to
criminalise paying for sex with a woman 'controlled for another person's
gain'. The new offence will carry a hefty fine and criminal record,
which could prevent those caught from getting jobs in sensitive
occupations.
The legislation will cover women who have pimps or drug addicts who work
to pay off their dealers as well as the rarer cases of trafficked women.
This is expected to include the majority of Britain's 80,000 sex
workers. Ignorance of a woman's circumstances will not be a defence.
Kerb crawlers will be 'named and shamed', while those who pay a
prostitute knowing she has been forcibly trafficked could face rape
charges.
The measures are highly controversial, with critics arguing that men
will seek other outlets if prostitution is driven off the streets. Smith
said it was 'not mine or the government's responsibility to ensure that
the demand is satisfied', adding: 'Is this something about which people
have a choice with respect to their demands? Yes, they do. Basically, if
it means fewer people are able to go out and pay for sex I think that
would be a good thing.'
The prostitution review will be published this week, followed later this
month by new licensing arrangements that are expected to see lapdancing
clubs, currently licensed in the same way as pubs, subjected to the same
stringent regime as sex shops, allowing local residents more
opportunities to object.
Smith said she believed the law had been 'left behind' by the explosion
in lapdancing clubs, which were seen as acceptable entertainment for a
corporate night out. 'If I were a business person and I were wanting to
make the best impression on clients, who presumably are female as well
as male, I do think it's a bit bizarre that you would take them to a
lapdancing club,' she said.
The new regime would make it more difficult to open them. 'It's not a
complete ban on lapdancing clubs, but it's saying you don't operate in a
vacuum, you have an impact on the community around you. I would hope it
would make it harder for them to open, certainly in residential areas,
and I would suspect that some of them will be closed when the licences
come up for renewal.'
The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP), which has vigorously
opposed the clampdown, says outlawing paid-for sex between consenting
adults will punish women who find this more lucrative than menial jobs.
Forcing the trade underground would mean that 'the risks they are forced
to take will be greater', said a spokeswoman.
One anonymous lapdancer who provided a statement for the ECP said she
could earn £250 in four hours of dancing. 'Nine out of 10 women turn to
prostitution or lapdancing because there's not enough money to survive.
Recently my mum couldn't afford a pair of school shoes for my brother
and sister. When I worked a day job I couldn't help her, but now I can.
'If the government is offended by the work we do, then give us the
financial means to get out.' She said that there was 'no pressure to
have sex with men, only opportunities'
The ECP's argument has been fuelled by the glamorisation of sex work at
the hands of bloggers such as Belle de Jour, the call girl whose memoir
became a bestselling book and then a TV film: she claimed to love sex
and regarded working as an escort for £300 as a better option than
temping.
Smith said that she did not believe that was true of most sex workers.
Under the new offence, men would not be able to claim in court that they
had not known the prostitute had a pimp or a drug habit. 'It won't be
enough to say, "I didn't know",' she said. 'What I hope people will say
is, "I am not actually going to take the risk if there is any concern
that this woman hasn't made a free choice." It would be quite difficult
for a man paying for sex in the majority of cases not to fall under this
particular offence.'
She had ruled out a universal ban on paid sex because some women argued
they did it out of choice 'and it's not my job to criminalise the demand
for that'.
Katherine Rake, director of the Fawcett Society pressure group, which
has campaigned for a clampdown on lapdancing clubs, welcomed the planned
curbs. 'People have suddenly woken up to the fact that our city centres
have changed very dramatically and that has an impact on us all, it
being part of the culture of sexualisation. It has been a silent creep,
but a deadly one in terms of what it meant for social attitudes and how
women feel in public spaces.'
What the new powers would provide
• A new criminal offence of paying for sex with a prostitute 'controlled
for another person's gain'.
• Kerb crawlers to be liable for prosecution after their first offence.
• The possible expansion of a scheme in Lambeth, south London, which has
impressed ministers, in which offenders are routinely named in local
press.
• A stricter licensing regime to make it harder for lap-dancing clubs to
open in residential areas.
http://www.guardian
lapdancing
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Sunday, 16 November 2008
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