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Policing and Crime BillSecond Reading, House of Lords, 3 June 2009Moved By Lord West of SpitheadBaroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: (Lib Dem) The Bill is the 66th criminal justice Bill since 1997. Between them, they have created 3,600 new criminal offences. We feel that the Government have still failed to understand that you cannot solve social problems by […]
Letters in The GuardianIf the Poppy Project is concerned about prostitutes being criminalised, where is it when the law raids, detains and deports women (Letters, 26 May); when mothers working collectively face closure, brothel-keeping charges, imprisonment and separation from their children; or when women driven out of premises risk rape or murder on the street?While […]
(Minister of State, Alan Campbell, Hansard 19 January 2009) In April 2009, a woman (Ms W) was charged under section 33 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 (SOA 1956) with “assisting in the management of a brothel” at two premises. Ms W had no responsibility for either flat. She was not a tenant, did not […]
As parliament makes it an offence to buy sex from women forced into prostitution, Gwladys Fouché talks to sex workers, police and support groups in Scandinavia, where similar bans have met with a mixed receptionNadia shivers in the cold night air while waiting for punters on the streets of Oslo. Until recently, the centre of […]
The Madames of Mayfair are celebrating a minor victory this weekend, having forced Westminster Council on to the retreat over the latter’s efforts to stop prostitutes working from flats in and around Shepherd Market. The English Collective of Prostitutes say that forcing their members to cease operating out of such premises will force them into danger on the streets. […]
THE working girls of Mayfair have defeated an attempt by Westminster Council to close their businesses, by using planning laws against the Town Hall.Vice police raided several flats in Shepherd Market, near Green Park, which have for decades been used for prostitution and reported them to the council’s planning department.The council then sent letters to […]
The government is criticised for not criminalising prostitutes’ clients enough (New law on forced prostitution weakened, say women’s groups, 20 May). But what about their increasing criminalisation of women? Not accidentally, the crime bill and the welfare reform bill are going through parliament together. If passed, mothers, especially single mothers, will lose income support and must […]
PUBLIC PRESSURE WINS GOVERNMENT CLIMB DOWN ON CRIMINALISING CLIENTS – BUT WHAT ABOUT SEX WORKERS? WHY ARE WE BEING ARRESTED? The government has been forced to amend Clause 13 of the Bill which made it a criminal offence for a man to have sex with a person “controlled for gain” whether he knew it or not. “Controlled […]