The Government have at last published the strategy in response to their recent “Paying the Price” consultation on prostitution. In they say they will not be establishing toleration zones for street prostitution, the report states that the government will “reject the option of managed areas. The clear aim of Government will be to disrupt street sex markets to significantly reduce the numbers involved in streeet prostitution” (page 9).

As you may have seen from the wildly mistaken tabloid headlines this morning the Government is adjusting the brothel laws. Currently running a brothel is illegal (under benefitting from prostitution laws aka pimping) and a brothel is any space where more than one woman works (which includes a maid). The Government will amend this to allow two or three women to work together to boost safety for prostitutes. Prostitution is not criminal although soliciting for prostitution is.

The Government, in the same paper, reiterates the commitment to treating children involved in prostitution as “at risk” and therefore requiring social services intervention rather than as criminals and requiring criminal charges.

The Paper, A Coordinated Prostitution Strategy is published today by the Home Office and available from their website.

Posted by Louise Livesey on 17 January 2006, at 4:59 PM