Asbos 'not right' for prostitutes

Sex workers need help to escape prostitution and drug addiction

Orders banning prostitutes from certain areas are not the best way to tackle London's sex trade, a report suggests.

Anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) are popular with residents, who think they send a "tough message", but can make things worse, the report found.

Some women simply moved into new areas where they were more vulnerable, the London Assembly report said.

It wants more Home Office funding to go voluntary and charity groups to support and retrain prostitutes.

The report found most Asbos, 15, were used on prostitutes in Camden, north London, although the council said they were issued for drug offences.

Tougher stance

Many councils wanted to be seen to be taking a tougher stance on street prostitution, the committee said.

"Although this approach may initially please local residents, it does not necessarily have a lasting long-term effect," the report found.

One woman was served with an Asbo banning her from Kings Cross - an area she knew and where she had regular health checkups - only to move into Islington, where she knew no-one and had no support.

The report suggested that the woman faced jail for breaking an Asbo, even though prison sentences for soliciting and loitering were repealed in 1983.

Providing a route out is the best long-term solution for those involved in prostitution Home Office spokesman

"The argument was made to us that this is, therefore, in effect reintroducing prison for an offence which is no longer imprisonable," the report found.

"We were told that help is what Ms A needs to break her drug habit, not prison. "

The Home Office is due to publish a strategy on tackling street prostitution next year, but said new offences with tough penalties had been introduced.

But a spokesman added: "Enforcement against those who solicit prostitutes must be matched with support for those trapped in prostitution.

"Providing a route out is the best long-term solution for those involved in prostitution, and for the communities that suffer from the nuisance and criminality associated with it."