An all-party parliamentary group warned that National Police Chiefs’ Council guidance telling officers how to deal with prostitution was ‘normalising’ commercial sexual exploitation
Cops should call prostitutes ‘sexual entrepreneurs’ under new PC guidelines for PCs.
But MPs fear the move could help normalise and decriminalise the commercial sexual exploitation of women.
In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood an all-party parliamentary group highlighted a fall in convictions for all types of prostitution in the past decade as evidence. At the same time sex trafficking was being conducted on an ‘industrial scale’ through ‘pimping websites’. One alone featured 15,800 adverts for prostitution, the politicians said.
Convictions for ‘paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force’ were down from 43 in 2010 to zero in 2023. Soliciting fell from 208 to 25 in the same period.
While keeping a brothel dropped from 32 to eight and ‘pimping’ decreased by the same numbers.
MPs said they were ‘deeply concerned’ that National Police Chiefs’ Council guidance telling officers how to deal with prostitution was ‘normalising’ commercial sexual exploitation as ‘work’ and ‘undermining’ efforts to crack down on it.
The guidance states officers should limit their use of the word ‘prostitute’ or ‘prostitution’ to ‘specific legal meanings and offences’. It says ‘sex work’ was for some a ‘necessary survival strategy’ while for others it was an ‘active career choice’.
These included ‘sexual entrepreneurs’ who ‘have chosen to engage in commercial sex as a career choice’ and for whom it was not a ‘temporary arrangement that they seek to exit’.
But the all-party MPs said the term ‘sex work’ was not contained in any UK legislation. “It is an ideological, political and deeply contested term and its recommended use by the NPCC is highly inappropriate,” they said.
“Relatedly it is wholly inappropriate that the term ‘sex work’ is in the very role title of the police officer leading the NPCC’s work on this issue.”
The group, which is chaired by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, said the NPCC’s use of the term ‘sex work’ went against a recommendation by the Commons home affairs select committee which had said it should not be deployed by law enforcement agencies. “This is because the term ‘sex work’ normalises the exchange of money for sex acts as a job,” the MPs said.
“It is not. It is sexual exploitation and abuse.”
It called for forces in England and Wales to follow Police Scotland which did not use the terminology ‘sex work’ and ‘recognised the exchange of money for sex acts as a form of violence against women’. The MPs want to meet the Home Secretary to discuss the issue and ‘how the Government can strengthen enforcement of laws against sex trafficking and sexual exploitation’.
Deputy chairman of the group Jess Asato MP said: “Decriminalising is usually a policy measure that is taken by a Government of the day then pursued whereas this is just happening and nobody really can see it.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “For too long women have been trapped within sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution. We will use every lever available to us to stop this. As part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, we are funding a pilot of the first national law enforcement intelligence and investigation hub for sexual exploitation to boost arrests and ensure perpetrators face justice.”
Deputy Chief Constable Dan Vajzovic, national police lead for sex work and prostitution, said: “The commercial sex industry is highly complex and multi-faceted which is why it’s crucial that policing has consistent guidance that helps forces to navigate complicated legislation and policy. Policing exists to enforce the law and safeguard the vulnerable, not to make judgements and decisions based on personal morality.
“We recognise that some people choose to work legally in the sex industry. Similarly we recognise that the sex industry is a significant contributor to sexual exploitation.
“These nuances mean that our approach must be dynamic, balanced and focused on protecting the vulnerable and tackling sexual exploitation. We welcome the opportunity to speak to partners about how we work to do this and have recently met with the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss the guidance which was recently refreshed following extensive consultation with policing, partner organisations and those with lived experiences of sex work and sexual exploitation.
“Our focus remains on tackling exploitation and pursuing perpetrators who exploit or abuse sex workers and to work relentlessly to improve the safety of those involved in the sex industry.”
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