Memorandum submitted by Jan Bassett (PC 29)

 

This message is in response to the Policing and Crime Bill regarding the Committee discussions on Thursday 5 February 2009. I don't work in the sex industry but care about the safety and the human rights of people who do. My concerns are:

 

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.

 

Sections 15-19 will increase violence against street sex workers, waste public funds and increase the impact of street sex work on communities.

 

I request that you drop Section 20 which gives the police wide ranging powers to seal premises on suspicion that a wide of activities related to prostitution have happened or will happen, with virtually no proof of action or intent. This will remove the protection of the law from many people in the indoor industry as people will not call the police if they know doing so risks closing the premises so we will suffer increased violence, robbery and rape.

 

It has been brought to my attention that the Home Office's own research shows that enforcement and police crackdowns are ineffective in terms of reducing street sex work, and that the most effective solution was "the right support ... available at the right time".

 

February 2009