It argues for the introduction of a general offence prohibiting the purchase of sexual services and suggests that soliciting offences that target the women who sell sex should be removed. The current laws on prostitution are complex and confusing. Selling sexual services is not illegal, but various acts associated with prostitution are prohibited. Under the Policing and Crime Act it is an offence for a person to persistently loiter or solicit in a public place in order to sell sexual services.
The Sexual Offences Act states that it is illegal to incite another person to become a prostitute in order to gain financially from them. Brothel keeping, through a landlord or tenant allowing a premises to be used for prostitution, is illegal under the Sexual Offences Act It is worth noting that a brothel is defined broadly as premises that are used by more than one woman, simultaneously or one at a time, for the purposes of prostitution.
This means two sex workers sharing a flat could be deemed to be running a brothel. In terms of laws affecting customers, it is illegal to pay for sexual services if the prostitute has been exploited or coerced, regardless of whether the client was aware of the circumstances or not.
The Policing and Crime Act Section 19 also makes it an offence for a person to solicit the sexual services of a prostitute in a public place, whether the customer is in a motor vehicle or not. Recent decades have seen the re-emergence of debate about prostitution policy.
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Questions have been raised about the law's effectiveness, implementation and impact on sex worker safety. This debate is reflected in the varying approaches to prostitution regulation across the globe.
