Convictions for exploiting people through prostitution have plummeted since 2010, despite the rise of lucrative pimping websites
New analysis of Ministry of Justice statistics by UK Feminista and CEASE (Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation) has revealed that enforcement of laws against adult sexual exploitation in England and Wales has plummeted since 2010. Survivors, campaigners and parliamentarians are joining forces through the ‘Not for Sale’ campaign to urge the Government to reform laws on sexual exploitation so they deter perpetrators and support victims.
The Not for Sale campaign is coordinated by CEASE and UK Feminista. Not for Sale is calling on the Government to deter demand for prostitution and sex trafficking and provide specialist support services for victims of sexual exploitation. The campaign is advocating for the Government to criminalise enabling or profiting from the prostitution of another person and paying for sex, and to decriminalise victims of sexual exploitation by removing sanctions for persistent soliciting. Hosted by UK Feminista and CEASE, the ‘Not for Sale’ campaign was launched at the Labour Party Conference on Monday 23 September 2024, with speakers including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls.
Analysis by UK Feminista and CEASE reveals:
- Convictions for the offence of ‘placing of advertisement relating to prostitution’ (Section 46 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001) fell by 99% between 2010 and 2023, from 327 convictions in 2010 to just two in 2023.
- Convictions for ‘paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc.’ (Section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) fell by 100% between 2010 and 2023, from 43 convictions in 2010 to zero in 2023.
- While convictions for ‘Soliciting another for the purpose of obtaining their sexual services as a prostitute in a street or public place’ (Section 51A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) rose sharply between 2010 and 2011, from 64 to 208, the number of convictions then proceeded to drop by 88% between 2011 and 2023, from 208 convictions in 2011 to 25 convictions in 2023.
Statistics also show enforcement of other sexual exploitation offences has been persistently low during the same period.
- In 2010 there were two convictions for ‘causing or inciting prostitution for gain’ (Section 52 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003), while in 2023 there was one conviction. The highest conviction level for this offence during the intervening years was 2015, when there were 10 convictions.
- In 2010 there were 17 convictions for ‘controlling prostitution for gain’ (Section 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003), while in 2023 there were 20 convictions – a 13 year high.
- In 2010 there were 32 convictions for ‘keeping a brothel used for prostitution’ (Section 33A of the Sexual Offences Act 1956), while in 2023 there were 8. The highest number of convictions for this offence was in 2011, when there were 42 convictions.
It is an offence under Section 46 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to place an advert for prostitution in a phone box. The legislation does not extend to adverts hosted online. Yet in 2023, the Home Affairs Committee cited evidence in its report on human trafficking that 75% of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are advertised online, with the cross-party group concluding, “Websites advertising prostitution significantly facilitate trafficking for sexual exploitation”. In response, the Home Affairs Committee recommended that the Government outlaw websites advertising prostitution by making it a criminal offence to enable or profit from the prostitution of another person – both online and offline.
Nina Humphries, Acting Director of UK Feminista, said:
“Our laws against adult sexual exploitation are outdated and ineffective. Pimps and traffickers have moved online to advertise their victims, enabling sex buyers to order a woman to exploit as easily as ordering a takeaway. Yet legislation has not kept pace with this technological change. It cannot be right that it is illegal to place a prostitution advert in a phone box, but legal to host that same advert on a website for profit.
“We urgently need to bring our laws against sexual exploitation into the twenty-first century by making it a criminal offence to enable or profit from the prostitution of another person – regardless of whether it takes place online or offline. We also have to shift the burden of criminality from victim to perpetrator, by decriminalising individuals involved in the sex trade who solicit on the street and outlawing paying for sex.
“The minority of men in this country who pay for sex are fuelling a ruthless trade in sexual abuse and they must be held to account. To stop the exploitation, we have to stop the demand. If the Government is serious about halving violence against women, it should start by criminalising online pimping and paying for sex, and decriminalising the women they so ruthlessly exploit.”
Dr Lucie Moore, Chief Executive of CEASE (Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation), said:
“In a progressive society that values equality, there is no place for sexual exploitation. Women involved in prostitution are 18 times more likely to be murdered than non-prostituted women. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, women involved in prostitution have the highest homicide rate of any population of women ever studied.
“Prostitution is violence against women. It cannot be made safe, but it can be stopped. The government has the power to prevent this exploitation by criminalising the men who fuel its demand, while providing support and exiting services for those involved. All they need is the will.”
Tonia Antoniazzi MP, who led a parliamentary debate on commercial sexual exploitation on 23 July 2024, said:
“Analysis of these statistics shows that the past 14 years have been a veritable golden age for pimps and punters. The previous government could and should have done more to tackle commercial sexual exploitation.
“We know that sexual exploitation is fuelled by demand. Men who pay to sexually exploit women are making a choice, and that choice is influenced by a range of factors, a key one being the risk of criminal sanction. Victims of sexual exploitation have been failed by a loose patchwork of laws that are outdated and ineffective, with pimps and traffickers free to advertise their victims online. We must do more to protect women and girls. Tackling commercial sexual exploitation must be central to the Government’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls if it is to be effective.
“Our laws against sexual exploitation urgently need to be updated to match the scale and nature of the problem. England and Wales need to follow the lead of countries such as France, Ireland, Sweden and Norway by criminalising paying for sex and decriminalising victims of sexual exploitation. The Home Office must also crack down on predatory pimping websites by making it a crime to enable or profit from the prostitution of another person, whether online or offline.”
Eleanor Lyons, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, said:
“Women and girls are being sexually exploited every day in communities across our country in horrific circumstances. This has a terrible impact on victims and their lives, whilst not enough is being done to hold criminals behind these crimes to account.
“The online world has facilitated the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation – whilst the law has not kept pace. This must change. More must do more now to end commercial sexual exploitation and this should be a central to any meaningful Government response to tackle violence against women and girls. We must do more to protect victims of sexual exploitation and punish the perpetrators of these horrifying crimes.”
UK Feminista is a charitable organisation working for a society in which women and girls live free from sexism and male violence. It provides the Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation. For more information visit www.ukfeminista.org.uk