I was thirteen when I started working as a prostitute.. not one punter complained or refused due to my age Jo
75% of women involved in prostitution entered when they were children (Women's Resource Centre)
It tears me apart when programmes like Diary of a call girl etc are on TV. It devalues my experience, makes me feel less able to speak about the reality Angel
Up to 70% of women in prostitution spent time in care, 45% report sexual abuse and 85% physical abuse within their families (Home Office,2006)
More than half of UK women in prostitution have been raped and/or seriously sexually assaulted. At least three quarters have been physically assaulted (Home Office,2004)
If I pay £20 then you have to do whatever I want Male punter
65% of UK population believe paying for sexual services is an act which exploits women (ICM,2008)
the real choice in prostitution is up to the punter and whether he decides to be violent or not. But even if he doesn't, he is using and legitimising an industry which other men exploit to be abusive and cause harm Rebecca
Up to 95% of prostituted women are problematic drug users, including around 78% heroin users and rising numbers of crack cocaine addicts (Home Office, 2004)
You pay for the convenience, a bit like going to a public loo Male punter
9 out of 10 surveyed women in prostitution would like to exit prostitution but feel unable to do so (Farley et al, 2003)
I was expected to make up to £400 per day for the men[pimps]. I was not allowed to keep any of it Olena
Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Lithuania, Cambodia and South Korea have outlawed various forms of purchasing sexual acts. Numerous other countries are considering the introduction of simliar legislation
Latest News
- Bradford Murders - Take Action
- Bradford Murders - Press Release
- BREAKING NEWS: Victory as Act passes to criminalise the purchase of sex from a person who has been exploited.
- Double Victory as Bill is passed to tackle commercial sexual exploitation
- Press release: Victory as Peers vote for women, not pimps and punters
- Joint Statement on Clause 14 - a crucial step to end commercial sexual exploitation
- Launch of online petition to tackle demand for prostitution
- Photos of Demand Change! Launch
- Launch of Demand Change!
- Website Launch
International and domestic human rights instruments
The UK has multiple international and domestic human rights obligations to tackle the demand for prostitution:
- ‘Poverty, unemployment, wars and armed conflicts’ are the main factors compelling women and young girls into prostitution and making them vulnerable to trafficking.’ (General Recommendation 19 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women)
- ‘Prostitution and the accompanying evil of the traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the welfare of the individual, the family and the community’. (Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others)
- ‘These practices [trafficking for sex tourism and domestic labour] are incompatible with the equal enjoyment of rights by women and with respect for their rights and dignity. They put women at special risk of violence and abuse.’ (General Recommendation 19 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women)
- 'Women who are trafficked into prostitution ‘need equal protection by law’ and state parties need to enact ‘protective and punitive measures’ to protect these vulnerable women(General Recommendation 19 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women)
- ‘States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of the prostitution of women’. (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women)
Other relevant international human rights instruments include:
- Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2005)
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
- UN Slavery Convention (1926)
- Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (1956)
- European Convention of Human Rights (1950)
- International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
- UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (est. 1975)
- UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1994)
- UN Fourth Conference on Women (Platform for Action) (1995)
- UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol) (1998)