Gemma Kelly, Head of Policy and Public Affairs for CEASE (Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation) said:
“We welcome the investigation by Sky News and UK Feminista that has found evidence of exploitation and criminal activity on UK pimping websites.
“Signs of exploitation on pimping websites include:
- The same phone number being used on adverts for different women
- The same or very similar wording being used across multiple adverts for different women
- Organisations like escort agencies advertising multiple women at once
“Trafficking, coercion, violence and assault are rife in the commercial sex industry. Despite prostitution still being legal in the UK, controlling and coercing women into prostitution for financial gain is illegal.
“We are calling for urgent reform to make our laws fit for purpose. The government and criminal justice system must:
- Hold exploiters accountable by making it a criminal offence to enable or profit from the prostitution of another person, offline and online.
- Deter demand by making it a criminal offence to pay for sex.
- Stop punishing victims by repealing the offence of soliciting in a public place.
- Support victims to exit and recover by providing specialist services.
“In a society that values equality and dignity, there can be no place for sexual exploitation.
“Every day in the UK, women involved in prostitution face disproportionate levels of violence, with evidence showing they are 18 times more likely to be murdered than women outside the sex trade. According to the United Nations, this group has the highest recorded 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 harm. By criminalising those who fuel the demand – sex buyers – and supporting those exploited through meaningful exit services, we can begin to dismantle this system of abuse. All that is needed is the political will.
“Our current laws around adult sexual exploitation are outdated and ineffective. While brothel-keeping and kerb-crawling are illegal, pimps and traffickers have adapted, moving their operations online where they can advertise victims with near-total impunity. Shockingly, it remains illegal to place a prostitution advert in a phone box, but legal to host the same advert on a website for profit. This loophole must be closed.
“The minority of men who pay for sex are sustaining a brutal and exploitative trade. If the Government is truly committed to halving violence against women and girls, it must criminalise online pimping, penalise sex buyers, and support those seeking to exit the sex trade.
“To stop exploitation, we must stop the demand and the supply. The time for change is now.”
Read more about prostitution legal reform at https://cease.org.uk/not-for-sale/