sex workers say its the laws that are criminal

[puntingking]

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In relation to the other post thread on the threat of sex work to be attempted to be banned.
The home office has said "there is currently no plans to make sex work an illegal offence"

But although currently sex work is legal (only if the sex worker work on her own). It is illegal for a sex worker to work in a brothel or an address with more than one person who is selling sex.
I think that law is totally unfair to sex work and could be dangerous. I am with the sex workers on this. I think make all forms of sex work legal thus allowing them to pay taxes for their trade.
If the government are fearful that human traffickers could exploit this law. Then only have licensed brothels operating and allow the authorities to do routine checks on venues. That's my view. I am against banned or restricting people's choices.
On mainstream media you only hear about wgs that do it as a way to make ends meat. Every wg I every met seem to be financially stable on the surface and they chose this career.

I would like to know what service providers think if any on here would like to share their opinion 

[Blackpool Rock]

Yeah as usual the law is bollocks regarding prostitution and not allowing girls to work more than 1 in a property etc.
As for the abolitionists what they fail to grasp is that "The worlds oldest profession" won't stop just because you criminalise people, all it does is push it underground and more out of sight making it more dangerous for all those involved.

Most local authorities tolerate brothels as it helps to keep girls off the streets and in turn reduces kerb crawling, you hear stories of women being propositioned when they are just walking down the road which is clearly wrong and shouldn't happen.
Plod visits parlours around the NW which is a good thing if they are checking for trafficked girls and also health workers visit to give advise and test girls for STI's which again is a good practice.

Make buying and selling sex work clearly legal but within certain rules or a certain framework then go after the gangs who traffick and exploit girls.
Where girls are hooked on drugs and doing the job to fund their habit offer them proper support and programs to get off the drugs   

[daviemac]

In my area it's only the dodgy ones like agencies who take the piss or those that traffic girls and force them into prostitution that get bother with the law, not a bad thing in my opinion.

I haven't read the article but does it say how many of those prosecuted fell into the categories I've mentioned.   

[Mr Doodle]

Nope - but it does say only 48 from the over 400 arrests end up in a prosecution.. so less than 13 %. What it infers though is despite the archaic law, plod/home office are trying to be pragamtic within the bounds of the law (which is what they have to be). Other countries of similar cultures have made a success out of it.. why not model ours on theirs? The campaigners to ban the sex industry are idealogues who, as usual, go after the symptom rather than the root cause.. less thinking to do, I suppose?

[Steely Dan]

I hope there is no change at all.  We are living in one of the best countries for punting at what might be the golden moment*.

By all means, plod should work harder on the traffickers. Disgusting shitheads. And local cops should continue to have some discretion.

But if there is more legal acceptance of brothels, there will likely be more laws across the spectrum.  Like banning OWO.  Perhaps anal and bondage banned next. Hard to believe, but perhaps even a punting ID needed, like in a casino. Or it could all end with the horrible situation like the whole UK becoming like Amsterdam RLD - really horrible, transactional sex with no fun.

*We might be just past the golden moment.  Depends on how this Brexit debacle ends up.

[smiths]

There are already enough laws about punting, some of the top cops in the areas they lead choose not to enforce some of those laws. The street scene is illegal for WGs and punters except that 1 zone in Leeds if its still going. And brothels are illegal from the point of view of a pimp/s who run them, and others who actively help run it like taking punters bookings.

Yet in many areas including mine both the street scene and brothels are flourishing, even in national lockdown and I would bet in the upcoming one the police wont close my local brothels down which to me are a potential health hazard as regards Covid which we have to get under control. I fail to see why the police didn't close them down in a pandemic as its an easy thing for them to do if they want to.

In theory I wouldn't have a problem with brothels being made legal post-Covid if it helped some WGs work together for safety BUT without a pimp running the show. And that is a big problem if brothels were legally allowed to operate with WGs sharing the same premises. How would the police know if there was or wasn't a pimp in charge in reality. But being a realist I have no doubt pimps aren't going anywhere.

[smiths]

I hope there is no change at all.  We are living in one of the best countries for punting at what might be the golden moment*.

By all means, plod should work harder on the traffickers. Disgusting shitheads. And local cops should continue to have some discretion.

But if there is more legal acceptance of brothels, there will likely be more laws across the spectrum.  Like banning OWO.  Perhaps anal and bondage banned next. Hard to believe, but perhaps even a punting ID needed, like in a casino. Or it could all end with the horrible situation like the whole UK becoming like Amsterdam RLD - really horrible, transactional sex with no fun.

*We might be just past the golden moment.  Depends on how this Brexit debacle ends up.

For me 2006-2010 was my golden punting time, its when I discovered sex parties and especially LMP which I went to last as it looked on paper too expensive to me compared with the others like GP, Desire, LAPC, Limelight Club and some others. In reality it was infinity better.

Yes you make a good point about what could happen if brothels were legally allowed. I also think WGs would have to be registered which would put many off as some if not many want to be a WG for a while then walk away forever to a new life. Not have a traceable record left behind. And as per once the authorities have got their beak in brothels prices would go up I have no doubt of that.

As to trafficking and forcing women to be WGs the police could do far far more in my view, and the sentences should be a mandatory life sentence.

[Horizontal pleasures]

Cynthia Payne (24 December 1932 – 15 November 2015) was an English brothel keeper[1] and party hostess who made headlines in the 1970s and 1980s, when she was convicted of running a brothel at 32 Ambleside Avenue, in Streatham, a southwestern suburb of London. (Wikipedia)

Those were my golden years, 1970s and 1980s at Cynthias, but not only.

I started in 1961 with what turned out to be a Jewish 'auntie' type in a London theatres area walk-up when I was a student. With some gaps when abroad, almost always punted every few weeks or every few months.

I only once met the law in action when a copper visited Cynthia's! He was interested in the girls but not me. One looked too young but luckily had an ID proof of age. So no serious consequences that time as it was a 'bunk-up' night as she called them, before the real party.

I certainly had to be careful when I met streetwalkers in Manchester's Moss Side in my pa's car - a double risk! Also many years later in London Finsbury Park N4 and in Paddington W2 areas.

[chadpitt]

The law exists for a reason.

Often these brothels involve sex slavery. The girls are forced into it.

I'd rather deal with individual girls who choose to do so freely rather than pimped out (poor service) WGs.

[Kelgon85]

The law exists for a reason.

Often these brothels involve sex slavery. The girls are forced into it.

I'd rather deal with individual girls who choose to do so freely rather than pimped out (poor service) WGs.

^ Definitely.

[pbrown355]

Chadpitt, I think that is the point. Make it legal and "regulated" which allows health education, taxation, and makes action on trafficking easier, I think. As ever, government would make a mess of the new legislation as they are both incompetent and they wouldn't have the nerve to write it without giving ground to prudish dogooders.
Just allowing WGs to work legally in shared premises would be a good start.

[Blackpool Rock]

The law exists for a reason.

Often these brothels involve sex slavery. The girls are forced into it.

I'd rather deal with individual girls who choose to do so freely rather than pimped out (poor service) WGs.

Somewhat of a sweeping statement and a single girl working from home, in a flat or on the streets can still be pimped out

[Bryan11]

Could be worse, in NI it is a criminal offence to pay for sex, 6 months in jail and a fine

[binbag]

Instead of changing/enforcing the laws around prostitution, how about making it compulsory? There used to be "National Service" when everyone had to join the military. Why not have everyone become a sex worker for 2 years - that'd be a real "National Service". Sign me up!

[Blackpool Rock]

Instead of changing/enforcing the laws around prostitution, how about making it compulsory? There used to be "National Service" when everyone had to join the military. Why not have everyone become a sex worker for 2 years - that'd be a real "National Service". Sign me up!

Yeah but rather like you didn't get to choose where you got posted and just had to follow orders etc perhaps you don't get to choose what aspect of sex work you do 

OK so you're in the battalion that services the gay men     

[binbag]

Wasn't 'bully beef' part of the previous National Service experience?

[mickyD.]

The government wont change the law because it works for them look at AW and there are more girls in Westminster than in any other part of London
its the same with the police some of the girls i know say some of there best regulars are from the police   

[puntingking]

Yeah as usual the law is bollocks regarding prostitution and not allowing girls to work more than 1 in a property etc.
As for the abolitionists what they fail to grasp is that "The worlds oldest profession" won't stop just because you criminalise people, all it does is push it underground and more out of sight making it more dangerous for all those involved.

Most local authorities tolerate brothels as it helps to keep girls off the streets and in turn reduces kerb crawling, you hear stories of women being propositioned when they are just walking down the road which is clearly wrong and shouldn't happen.
Plod visits parlours around the NW which is a good thing if they are checking for trafficked girls and also health workers visit to give advise and test girls for STI's which again is a good practice.

Make buying and selling sex work clearly legal but within certain rules or a certain framework then go after the gangs who traffick and exploit girls.
Where girls are hooked on drugs and doing the job to fund their habit offer them proper support and programs to get off the drugs   

I could not agree with you more. 

[puntingking]

I hope there is no change at all.  We are living in one of the best countries for punting at what might be the golden moment*.

By all means, plod should work harder on the traffickers. Disgusting shitheads. And local cops should continue to have some discretion.

But if there is more legal acceptance of brothels, there will likely be more laws across the spectrum.  Like banning OWO.  Perhaps anal and bondage banned next. Hard to believe, but perhaps even a punting ID needed, like in a casino. Or it could all end with the horrible situation like the whole UK becoming like Amsterdam RLD - really horrible, transactional sex with no fun.

*We might be just past the golden moment.  Depends on how this Brexit debacle ends up.

I hope not.

[puntingking]

The government wont change the law because it works for them look at AW and there are more girls in Westminster than in any other part of London
its the same with the police some of the girls i know say some of there best regulars are from the police   

I agree. But there is a growing number of feminists who occupy the seats of houses of commons.
Most people in this country don't identify themselves as a feminist but the minority are the loudest because they also occupy mainstream media organisations and politics.

But I do believe sex workers laws and regulations won't change for at least the next 3 to 4 years. They are so much things happening at the moment in politics and I don't think banning sex work or restricting sex workers freedom is not their main concern.   

[puntingking]

Could be worse, in NI it is a criminal offence to pay for sex, 6 months in jail and a fine

Fuck living in Northern Ireland. 

[chadpitt]

Chadpitt, I think that is the point. Make it legal and "regulated" which allows health education, taxation, and makes action on trafficking easier, I think. As ever, government would make a mess of the new legislation as they are both incompetent and they wouldn't have the nerve to write it without giving ground to prudish dogooders.
Just allowing WGs to work legally in shared premises would be a good start.

Amsterdam does that and if you look it up, human trafficking is still a problem.

Legalising will simply increase the scale of the operations. At least if it's illegal they'll be forced to operate on a lower volume and can be arrested instead of having their license revoked. 

[smiths]

Somewhat of a sweeping statement and a single girl working from home, in a flat or on the streets can still be pimped out

Indeed so, ANY WG could be being forced and punters wouldn't necessarily be aware, what is known is brothel WGs have a pimp/s but that doesn't mean they are being forced/been trafficked. Loads of WGs choose to work for pimps rightly or wrongly dependent on your own views on that.

[puntingking]

Just because there are human traffickers who look to exploit this trade does not mean the government should pass a law to restrict sex workers freedom or ban sex work.
I mean some shops do sell cigarettes to children even that is against the law but you won't see them outright ban smoking. I could give a few more examples. I am against any law that restricts peoples choices and freedom to choose for themselves.
We already have more laws than most western country as it is I think.

[smiths]

Just because there are human traffickers who look to exploit this trade does not mean the government should pass a law to restrict sex workers freedom or ban sex work.
I mean some shops do sell cigarettes to children even that is against the law but you won't see them outright ban smoking. I could give a few more examples. I am against any law that restricts peoples choices and freedom to choose for themselves.
We already have more laws than most western country as it is I think.

Indeed, there are also already enough laws about punting in my view, some top cops don't enforce them though.

IMO it will be the conflating of trafficking and WGs that is the most likely way the femi-nazis could get what they want, a law to criminalise all punters here, hopefully that wont happen but it wouldn't surprise me if it did at some time.