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HOW TO STOP SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
1.
Without demand from men who pay for sex, there would be no ‘supply’ of women and girls to be sexually exploited. Most men do not pay for sex; yet the minority who do are fuelling a brutal sex trafficking trade and causing untold harm to victims.
To deter demand and hold perpetrators accountable, paying for sex – including by exchanging accommodation, goods or services – must be a crime.
Reduce demand
2.
Provide support, not sanctions, for victims of sexual exploitation
Victims of sexual exploitation can currently face criminal sanctions for soliciting in a public place. Yet having a criminal record can make it harder to seek help and leave sexual exploitation.
Government and law enforcement action should work to remove barriers to escaping sexual exploitation - not impose them. Therefore, the offence of soliciting in a public place should be repealed.
Comprehensive support and exiting services should be made available to anyone who has experienced sexual exploitation.
3.
Hold exploiters to account
Individuals and companies that facilitate and profit from the sexual exploitation and abuse of others must be held to account.
At present, our outdated laws against sexual exploitation allow lucrative pimping websites to operate with impunity. Yet pimping websites enable and profit from sexual exploitation - and incentivise sex trafficking. To combat sexual exploitation and hold third-party profiteers to account, it must be an offence to enable or profit from the prostitution of another person.
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