Prostitution: should the law be changed?

Delegates at the annual general meeting of the Magistrates' Association are set to urge the Government to carry out a wide ranging review of how it deals with prostitution.

As the act of soliciting is not a prisonable offence, JPs currently do not have the option of a community sentence and have to fine a prostitute who appears before them.

This can lead to women appearing in court time and time again, simply building up fines totalling hundreds or thousands of pounds.

London magistrate Roger Farrington said, "The whole thing is a mess. The Government ought to recognise the problem and set up a review".

Do you think it's time that the law on prostitution was changed? Are current regulations putting too much additional pressure on an already overloaded court system? Or should soliciting be punished by imprisonment?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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Your reaction

The present law selects the poor and vulnerable for attack in a senseless and damaging way

Jonathan, UK

Prostitution takes many forms - in a large number of relationships it is a major component. The rich have prostitutes that never end up in court. The present law selects the poor and vulnerable for attack in a senseless and damaging way, making them feel marginalised. In fact they are, and always have been, part of the general system.
Jonathan, UK

The "ayes" have it in this forum, and quite rightly: criminalizing prostitution is symptomatic of a society over its head in the delusion that "distasteful" aspects of human behaviour can be pretended away Pathetic.
Stephen T-B, UK

First, we need to ask why prostitution is so rife. Then ask why there are so many people willing to pay money for sex. The answer is simple, illicit sex is immoral and, therefore, attracts those who have no morals.
Raymond, UK

I sense puritanism's bony finger in all this

Glenn Acheson, USA

George Carlin said it best, "Why is it illegal to sell something that you can give away for free?" The whole notion of selling sex is pretty comical, but as long as there are people willing to pay there will be those that are willing to sell. It is pedantic to discuss and I sense puritanism's bony finger in all this.
Glenn Acheson, USA

While I cannot make a direct comment on the situation in the EU, I can say that here in Canada something as obvious as the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution will not happen. It makes so much sense when you look at it for what it is. Canadian courts play the "prostitution shuffle" with those that actually make it in front of a judge. If the laws and courts of the lands refuse to stamp it out, lets tax it, regulate it, make taxpayers out of the sex-workers, but most of all lets make sure the workers themselves are in a better situation.
Tyler Whyte, Canada

Prostitution is often referred to as one of the oldest trades - if it hasn't gone away by now nothing is going to stop it. Properly regulated brothels would allow tighter regulation, less drug abuse, less STDs, less chance of under-age prostitutes and a chance for the government to earn taxes. Legalise the sex trade and you take a big step to ensuring the safety of the men and women who currently walk the streets and their customers.
Cath Tomlinson, England

Protect the prostitutes and work much, much harder on keeping children out of the trade.

Arri London, UK

If we aren't interested in legalising prostitution, then penalties for all involved must be the same. Clients, prostitutes and pimps should all get exactly the same sentences. Legalising and organising prostitution is probably a better bet. If someone is dumb enough to want to pay money for sex with a complete stranger, let them. Protect the prostitutes and work much, much harder on keeping children out of the trade.
Arri London, EU/UK

Personally I find prostitution repugnant. However I have to wonder that if it is okay to sell things that I own, and it is okay to sell the skills I have learnt at school, why can't I sell the use of my own body?
Steve Thursby, Leeds

Many prostitutes are prostitutes by choice, an in my view Steve, since any one can have and it requires no skill whatsoever to have sex, they are the laziest working people in the world.
Kong Lapia, Sierra Leone

I'm all for the "oldest profession" being legal. I'll bet there are studies that indicate sex crimes have decreased in areas where it was made legal. Of course medical examinations should be performed frequently. And the added benefit is the taxation of the profession by the government.
Rick, USA

I think that people are going to do this regardless of what the law states. To protect people that do this it should be made legal. No matter what stigma is attached, this is the way of the world. In some parts of society it will not be acceptable, others it will, time will tell.
Gemma, UK

Everyone has given up on this section of society

Lydia, UK

I think that the government and magistrates should start thinking about the reasons that lead vulnerable young women (and men) into prostitution - drug addiction is one such example. The drug services available for prostitutes are virtually non-existent. If these men and women were given counselling, drug treatment interventions, and in turn their self-esteem was boosted then young prostitutes under 25 would most likely stop selling their bodies on the streets in return for drugs. Essentially, everyone has given up on this section of society and it's about time they received the time and attention they've needed for years.
Lydia, UK

Prostitution trade is as old as humanity itself. It prevailed through all ages and all societies, all religions and all restrictions. Legislating or policing or imprisoning may diminish it but will certainly not eradicate it. On the contrary, I believe it should be established as an acceptable normal activity just like any other profession. And it should be given a proper place in society to function.
Habib Hemani, USA

Backward thinking is far more dangerous in my view

Carole K, UK

In response to Rob, UK: Your argument sets out exactly why prostitution should be legalised. Yes AIDS has taught us much and with legal brothels and health clinics available to prostitutes then they can ensure that they practise safe sex and have monthly health checks to ensure that they are "fit to work". Yes it is dangerous, which is why it should be legalised to give prostitutes police protection and a brothel will act as a safe haven so the workers are not managed by violent pimps. And it is only demeaning and degrading to those who view it as such. People who capitalise on their singing voices aren't demeaned, so why should one view a person using another of their assets to make money demeaning? People will have sex, many people want to have sex and are willing to pay for it. It is a market economy that has been going on since the dawn of time so it is about time we recognise that these prostitutes are people and need to be seen as such. Backward thinking is far more dangerous in my view.
Carole K, UK

Rob, UK: Of course AIDS has taught us something. Hence the need for legislation that gets the whole thing out in the open and includes medical checks. I'd bet that prostitution related diseases are far fewer in Amsterdam than they are in London.
Pat, UK

What a flimsy, flabby, pathetic excuse for a society we have become

Rob, UK

Typical. It's too hard to police so legalise it. What a flimsy, flabby, pathetic excuse for a society we have become. And it's not just 'consensual sex'. It's demeaning, degrading and frankly downright dangerous. Has Aids taught us NOTHING??
Rob, UK

I just wanted to remind contributors to, and readers of, this Talking Point, that there are men working in prostitution and that, in London at least, male prostitution is a large chunk of the total sex industry. In my experience male prostitution in London is safer and offers better remuneration to the men providing the services than is the case with women. This is because very many male prostitutes operate via adverts in magazines and work for themselves in their own premises, rather than being pimped on the street.
Mathew Barton, London, UK

To begin with it is no one's business what two consenting adults get up to in their transactions. But at the moment the law is grossly unfair to men as they can be sent to prison and their lives destroyed for attempting to pick up a prostitute, not the same for the prostitute though. That's like arresting the heroin buyer but allowing the heroin dealer off the hook. I say change the law and legalise prostitution, allowing women to pursue their career safely and allow men the opportunity to go about their business without fear of persecution.
Mick Deal, UK

I have occasionally used the services of prostitutes and think that anything to get the girls away from pimps and drug use is a good thing.
Adam F, Camberley, UK

I don't for a minute think that legalised brothels would make prostitutes safer. The minute something is legalised there will be taxes and fines and the minute there are taxes and fines there will be a black market - back to square one! Stop punishing the prostitutes. They tend to be society's outcasts and suffering greatly anyway. Make soliciting prostitutes illegal instead. Punish the demand and quite surely the supply will disappear.
Christine, UK

For goodness sake, change the legislation. Make it legal for those over 16 (or 18) in registered houses to offer sex services. Locate them on industrial sites with plenty of parking, away from schools and homes where they upset local residents. Require them to pay tax and in return they get regular healthcare resource, an allocated police officer, a safe environment to work in and no pointless fines.
Kathy Sadler, UK

The law concerning prostitution is ridiculously outdated

Melanie Torrance, Scotland

The law concerning prostitution is ridiculously outdated. Legalisation and regulation is the way forward. Instead of having girls on the streets, have "safe houses", so that clients go there instead of kerb crawling. Have community nurses/doctors who can perform Aids tests and provide advice and general health checks. Also provide education workers who can help the women study and/or find a way out of a life of prostitution. Simply banning prostitution or sweeping the issue under the carpet doesn't make it go away and it also wastes a lot of valuable court time.
Melanie Torrance, Scotland

There is no justification for prostitution remaining illegal. Many of the arguments that are offered in defence of its continued criminalization revolve around the fact that it is illegal. Drugs and violence are the by-products of the shadowy world that the prostitute is forced to inhabit. Legalisation will, if nothing else, increase the safety of sex workers. As for exploitation, who exactly is being exploited? I know 16-year-old girls working for around £4 an hour in a mind-numbingly boring job, robbing them of all self-esteem and ambition.
Andrew Bartlett, UK

Why not follow the Dutch example where we have a free tolerance towards the safety of both the girls and their clients. This greatly reduces the chances of assault, or worse, on both parties, as well as instilling a developed culture of safe sex. It is after all the oldest profession, so let's try and follow sensible principles in order to allow it to freely, and safely, remain as a service.
Murray de Schot, The Netherlands

We are deluding ourselves to imagine this trade does not exist

Shaun, Teignmouth, UK

I think it is high time we stopped having such a Victorian attitude towards what is essentially consensual sex. We are deluding ourselves to imagine this trade does not exist and it is high time we followed the example of our more liberated Continental neighbours by setting up legalised brothels.
Shaun, Teignmouth, UK

As nasty as it might seem, the oldest profession is here to stay. No amount of law trying to curb it will succeed. The only way forward is controlled legalisation which is the only way to protect all those concerned in the trade, including the clients.
Andy W, UK

I think there should be some sort of overhaul, if only to protect the women who take part in this very risky business. Laws should be introduced to come down heavier on people who pimp women and use violence against them. Legalised brothels may be the way forward with proper protection and health care.
Richard H, UK