Sexual Exploitation + Sex Work – Fact Sheet
This briefing addresses the dangers of conflating trafficking, modern slavery and sexual exploitation with all prostitution or sex work. It also explores the harm caused to both victims and sex workers by further criminalisation.
Some in Parliament have already begun labelling all sex work as modern slavery and trafficking. The Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) report on Human Trafficking labels all prostitution as sexual exploitation, recommending that the Home Office no longer uses the term “sex work”. Meanwhile, MPs attempted to rebrand prostitution as “sexual exploitation” this year, through a clause in the Criminal Justice Bill. In reality, sex work is a broad label. Categorising all sex workers as victims of exploitation is an inaccurate definition which not only makes it harder for professionals to understand and identify genuine victims of modern slavery, but also robs sex workers of the right to name their own experiences.
Whilst sex work is technically legal, lots of associated activity such as ‘soliciting’ is criminalised, putting sex workers at risk of legal sanctions. This year, the Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner (IASC) also accepted a recommendation from the HASC, calling for the Government to revisit legislation which is “not deterring sex buyers”, effectively advocating for further de facto criminalisation of sex work. This move threatens to push sex workers further underground and reduces the visibility of those in the industry, including victims of violence such as modern slavery. Meanwhile, raids put anyone involved in sex work, including survivors of exploitation and those engaging in ‘survival sex’, at risk of criminalisation, immigration detention and deportation. Freedom of Information (FOI) data shows that most raids on potential brothels under the guise of suspected modern slavery do not result in any survivors being referred for support, bringing into question whether increased policing of sex work is an effective way of identifying survivors.
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