Crime and Policing Bill

Written evidence submitted by the Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution (CAP International) (CPB40)

Crime & Policing Bill

About CAP International

1. The Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution (CAP International) is a coalition gathering 36 grassroots and survivor-led NGOs from 27 countries providing direct support and assistance to 19 000 victims of prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation. They unite around a common objective: the abolition of the prostitution system.

Summary

2. CAP International supports three amendments tabled to the Crime and Policy Bill to end trafficking for sexual exploitation and protect its victims:

· NC1: criminalisation of pimping online and offline

This provision would help better protect victims and fight the impunity of traffickers and pimps in the digital sphere.

· NC2: criminalisation of the purchase of sexual acts

This provision is essential to discourage the demand that fosters sexual exploitation, to hold perpetrators of male violence accountable, to challenge the attitudes of men buying sexual acts and to better protect victims and prevent victimisation.

· NC3: decriminalisation of victims of sexual exploitation and prostitution

This provision is crucial to shift the criminal burden from victims to perpetrators, end the stigmatisation and marginalisation of victims of sexual exploitation and prostitution, secure access to their fundamental rights, exit pathways and comprehensive support.

NC1

3. NC1 tabled by Tonia Antoniazzi MP, creates a criminal offence to enable or profit from the prostitution of another person, online and offline.

Under international human rights law, the prohibition of the "exploitation of the prostitution of others" is clearly defined in the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others [1] . It includes:

• "Procuring, enticing or leading away, for purposes of prostitution, another person, even with the consent of that person;

• Exploiting the prostitution of another person, even with the consent of that person.

• Keeping or managing, or knowingly financing or taking part in the financing of a brothel;

• Knowingly letting or renting a building or other place or any part thereof for the purpose of the prostitution of others".

In accordance with this international human rights treaty, States have an obligation to criminalise the exploitation of the prostitution of others. This definition aligns with NC1 as proposed by MP Antoniazzi.

4. Today, multiple online platforms publish prostitution advertisements while enjoying widespread impunity. The " Uberisation " of prostitution is a reality, with various stages of sexual exploitation increasingly digitalised. Social media and the internet have profoundly altered the modus operandi of traffickers. Pimps now use technology to exploit victims of sexual exploitation and prostitution: recruitment occurs via social media or online platforms, advertisements are published on these platforms, meetings are arranged through encrypted messaging apps, and payments are made via cryptocurrency or online transfers. This "uberisation" benefits traffickers and organised crime who are less and less visible to the detriment of victims.

5. In France, according to the Central Office for the Repression of Trafficking in Human Beings, 35,000 prostitution advertisements are published daily on one of the main online platforms selling sexual acts. A vast majority of the women advertised on these platforms are reported to be under the control of pimps [2] .

6. In this context, holding online platforms accountable-particularly those whose business model is based on pimping-is urgent. This measure would help deter traffickers, combat impunity, protect current victims, and prevent future ones. CAP International supports this amendment to end the impunity of pimps and traffickers online and offline.

NC2

7. NC2 tabled by Tonia Antoniazzi MP creates an offence for the purchase of sexual acts.

To challenge the attitudes of men who purchase sexual acts and to discourage the demand that fuels sexual exploitation, CAP International believes it is necessary to criminalise the purchase of sexual acts.

8. Where implemented alongside the decriminalisation of victims, this legislation has acted as a powerful deterrent. According to a 2023 poll conducted in Sweden -where the purchase of sexual acts is penalised-, only 7% of men reported having purchased sex at least once, compared to 26% in Germany, where the purchase of sexual acts is legal [3] . This low demand has led trafficking networks to move away from the country according to police phone tapings [4] . In Sweden, the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual acts has also had a normative effect: while the majority of Swedes were opposed to criminalising the demand before the law, just ten years later, over 70% of the population were in favour of it [5] .

9. In France, Law n°2016-444 of 13t April 2016 strengthening the fight against the prostitution system and support for prostituted persons, enshrines the criminalisation of purchasing sexual acts through fines and/or mandatory awareness training. Since the adoption of the law, 7,000 buyers of sexual acts have been arrested [6] . Among those attending awareness raising programmes in 2020, 89% of them stated they would not purchase sexual acts again [7] . According to a poll conducted in 2019, of the French population considered buying sexual acts to be equivalent to imposing sexual relations through money, and 78% supported the law [8] .

10. On 25 July 2024, the European Court of Human Rights, in its ruling M.A. v France, [9] , recognised that the combination of decriminalising persons in prostitution while criminalising the purchase of sexual acts helped reverse the power dynamics between buyers and victims of sexual exploitation (§163). The court rejected arguments that this policy negatively affected persons in prostitution and upheld its validity under human rights law.

11. On the other hand, CAP International observes that in countries where the purchase of sexual acts is legal this practice is normalised allowing trafficking for sexual exploitation to thrive. For example, in Germany:

• 81% of persons in prostitution in legal brothels in 2024 were of foreign origin [10] .

• Since the war in Ukraine, the number of Ukrainian women in Berlin’s red-light brothels has increased fivefold [11] .

• The legality of the purchase of sexual acts has led to its widespread prevalence with an estimated 1 million men purchasing sexual acts daily in the country [12] .

12. The criminalisation of purchasing sexual acts is an effective measure to discourage demand and protect victims. It is rooted in international human rights law, including the UN Palermo Protocol, which calls on states to discourage demand that fosters trafficking (Article 9) [13] . It 2023, the European Parliament called on all Member States to criminalise the purchase of sexual acts in the Noichl Resolution [14] . In May 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Reem Alsalem, recommended that states adopt a policy that decriminalises persons in prostitution while criminalising the purchase of sexual acts. [15] .

NC3:

13. NC3, tabled by Tonia Antoniazzi MP, would repeal the Street Offences Act 1959 offence of ‘Loitering or soliciting for purposes of prostitution’. CAP International firmly believes that decriminalising victims of sexual exploitation and prostitution is essential for upholding their fundamental rights, ensuring their protection, and providing comprehensive support.

14. In France, the 2016 law strengthening the fight against the prostitution system and support for prostituted persons effectively decriminalised victims of sexual exploitation, who, prior to 2016, could be arrested for soliciting sex buyers. Since the law was passed, no person has been arrested for prostitution, compared to 2,000 arrests per year before the law [16] .

15. Criminalising persons in prostitution and victims of sexual exploitation contributes to their marginalisation and stigmatisation. It further prevents them from exiting this system of violence and from accessing essential support services and protections. In France, in addition to decriminalising persons in prostitution, the law guarantees a provision of "exit pathways" which benefited to 1747 persons since 2016 [17] .

Victims of prostitution and sexual exploitation experience extreme forms of violence at the hands of sex buyers and pimps. Ensuring their decriminalisation, access to justice, healthcare, tailored support and exit pathways is crucial and must be prioritised. CAP International supports this amendment as it is of utmost importance to shift the criminal burden from the victims to the perpetrators.

Paris, April 3rd 2025