Safety first: protecting the lives of sex workers
Alex Bryce- Manager of the National Ugly Mugs Scheme
Alex is Manager of the National Ugly Mugs Scheme. Prior to this, he worked as a political adviser in the House of Commons for seven years and has run a number of successful election campaigns. He has also worked as a consultant for third sector organisations supporting them in raising awareness about key issues amongst parliamentarians and government ministers and campaigning to influence legislation. He is a published writer and has been a campaigner for equality for all of his adult life. UKNSWP is a politically independent organisation but Alex is a former Labour Party adviser and candidate.
https:// uknswp. org / um /
Recent proposals to criminalise the purchase of sex in Scotland and Northern Ireland has reignited the debate over the UK’ s prostitution laws and it has been claimed by abolitionists, somewhat wishfully I believe, that the outcome could put pressure on the Government to consider a similar legislative approach for England and Wales.
APPG on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade
The Government is also under pressure from a small cabal of MPs, operating under the banner of the All Party Parliamentary Group( APPG) on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade, who invited the two figures spearheading the proposals in Scotland and Northern Ireland- Rhoda Grant MSP and Lord Morrow respectively- to Parliament to explain their plans. The APPG has also subsequently launched a consultation on UK prostitution laws complete with loaded questions and an introductory summary of different legal settlements on prostitution which reads more like an abolitionist position statement than an objective overview. Scratch beneath the surface( or perform a simple online search as I did) to find that the group is funded by Christian Action Research and Education( CARE)- an organisation which has sponsored conferences promoting gay conversion therapy. That may go some way towards explaining the APPG’ s support for policies founded not on evidence but on ideology and dogma.
' The current legislative framework can discourage safer practices for sex workers and contributes to their strained relationship with police '
The current legislative framework in this area is complex, can discourage safer practices for sex workers( such as having several people sex working from one place- currently classed as running a brothel and therefore illegal) and certainly contributes to the strained relationship between the police and sex workers which exists in some areas. However, criminalising the purchase of sex is not the answer and is opposed by most of the public, sex workers themselves and the
revolutionise. it 49