Last year I joined a Number 10 e-petition that said:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to reject proposals to drive prostitution further underground by prosecuting clients of prostitutes; to endorse the policy suggested by the Royal College of Nursing, the National Association of Probation Officers and others by decriminalising prostitution; and to observe Council of Europe Resolution 1579 of October 2007.”
The Government has now responded and even by UK Government standards, the response is daft, paying no attention to the core issues raised and seemed to interpret the petition as calling for even tougher measures. I'm sure there is someone in the Home Office with their hands in their ears shouting "la la la, I can't hear you". The response in full read:
The Government has a Coordinated Prostitution Strategy. Offences exist to deal with anyone buying or attempting to buy sex from someone on the street; and in terms of off-street prostitution, our Strategy is clear that the demand for commercial sex from under-18s or individuals trafficked to this country is totally unacceptable. We have specific offences that cover paying for the sexual services of a child, and rape remains the appropriate offence with which to prosecute those who pay for sex with an individual who does not consent.
We will also do all we can to prevent individuals from falling into work in prostitution, and are committed to ensuring that services are in place to allow women already involved to develop routes out.
However, we recognise also that there is significant support for more to be done to tackle the demand for prostitution. Recently, the Home Secretary announced a number of proposals which have arisen from a major review into tackling the demand for prostitution. These include our intention to outlaw paying for sex with someone controlled for another person’s gain. This is aimed at protecting vulnerable individuals, for example those who have been trafficked or exploited in some other way. We also announced a crackdown on kerb-crawlers, as well as new powers to close premises associated with prostitution.
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