Memorandum submitted by George McCoy (PC 28)

 

Dear Sir,

 

I care about the rights and safety of the people who work in the sex industry having met many of them over the past twelve years everywhere from Cornwall to Aberdeen.

 

They and I are concerned that the proposed legislation will do nothing to help anyone except the small minded prohibitionists and religious zealots who are intent on telling everyone how they should live their lives, a sentiment that does not appeal to most people in this country.

 

People in Britain are concerned about trafficking, though the scale of this has been vastly exaggerated by the people mentioned above.

 

Pentameter 1 and Penatmeter 2 only found evidence of trafficking at a small percentage of the establishments raided and if section 20 proceeds, which gives the police wide ranging powers to seal premises on suspicion (i.e. with no proof) that a wide of activities related to prostitution have happened or will happen, this will remove the protection of the law from many people in the indoor sex industry with there being less incentive on anyone's part to report crime there pertaining to the authorities.

 

Furthermore section 13 - criminalisation of clients - will do nothing to stop violence or trafficking, but will play into the hands of traffickers by decreasing reporting by clients of anxieties about trafficking.

 

February 2009