Police call to legalise brothels.

[discodown]

A brothel is a safer environment for a pimp. At the moment, anything he does, he can get nicked for. There is so much money involved that people still do it, but basically if the police can physically find him, they can nail him. The transfers of money are enough.

 

But once there can be brothels, legally, then money can come out of them, legally. And believe me, it will!! It becomes merely an exercise in accountancy, just like city slickers engaged in insider dealing. A good accountant, and the pimp is laughing. How can the police touch him? They won't even try; and proving it will involve all sorts of specialisms. Like city fraud trials, these will simply not happen, or if they do, will not convict.

 

A brothel is a less safe environment for a woman than the streets, precisely because it is legal and the police cannot interfere except on technical grounds. Do not believe all the touchy-feely stuff that the proponents seek to push. A brothel is a horrible, nasty place, and horrible nasty stuff goes on there. You don't have to have read much 18th century literature to know that, and getting rid of them was, alongside the Factory Acts, part of the Victorian clean-up of society. Brothels act as collection points, drawing or forcing women into prostitution, and feeders for women trafficking. It is useless to say, as doubtless some will say, "Oh we will legislate to prevent these things." Such legislation will be a dead letter. Everything that currently goes on, on the streets, will go on in the brothels, with the addition of the withdrawing of police protection from the inmates.

 

There is a HUGE amount of money to be made here, remember? We need to stay focused on this, because it, not good intentions, will determine how all this plays in practice.

 

One other thought. This is not the first "liberalisation" that we have seen, over the last 40 years. We have seen many. And each and every one of them led to a huge explosion in what was previously controlled. In each and every case, the opponents predicted various awful consequences -- in each and every case the proponents laughed these off, and in each and every case those consequences came to be. Surely we have had enough special pleading down the years to know this by now? The supposedly unintended consequences will be endless.

 

No decent society sells the young poor women into brothels. I don't want ours to be one of those that do. We must disregard the spin, and look at what the reality is likely to be.

 

The existing situation is the best of a bad job. No society can prevent women selling themselves, and perhaps we should not try. But it can make life difficult for those who exploit them. More projects like the Iceni Project are the right way to help these women, not recreating the stews of past days.

 

I do expect, by the way, the establishment to legalise brothels, and with them, pimping. That is because they will find it convenient to do so. More than a century ago Karl Marx reflected in the Communist Manifesto that the rich choose to turn the female poor into whores for their own convenience. But we should never suppose that they do so, for our benefit.

 

All the best,

 

Roger Pearse

Now i'm somewhat convinced you may be right

[spindrift]

Now i'm somewhat convinced you may be right

 

 

Only if you accept the murder of women. Presumably these womens' deaths are a price worth paying. I don't agree. The sex trade will continue regardless of any legislative change. My concern would be making things safer for the women.

There is no evidence that women walking the street are safer than those working in controlled, licensed establishments. In fact the opposite is true.

 

It is not only naive to say liberalisation results in an "explosion" of use, whatever that means. All the evidence points the other way. That's why drug use decreases where liberalisation occurs.

 

Have an opinion by all means, but don't swallow reactionary knee-jerk Daily Mail scare stories.

[spindrift]

This is not the first "liberalisation" that we have seen, over the last 40 years. We have seen many. And each and every one of them led to a huge explosion in what was previously controlled.

All the best,

 

Roger Pearse

 

For instance?

 

Any actual examples, or just hysterical tabloid nonsense?

 

What has been liberalised, then exploded?

[mj.scuba]

Why not? Surely they would know best?

 

Why not? Who other? Politicians? What experience do they have of prostitution?

 

On second thoughts....

 

 

 

Based on his experience Deputy Chief Constable Simon Byrne was asking for a debate. Can't think of anyone more qualified to make that statement considering the feedback he gets from his officers on the ground.

 

if the costs enforcing the prostitution laws outweigh the costs of allowing some aspects of it to be decriminalised then I think they should be able to open the debate and then leave it to the rest of us to decide

 

Not saying there shouldn't be a debate, but if you allow the police to start influencing what laws are passed and which are not, you basically move towards the police picking and choosing the laws and what should be enforced (or not).

[Xt500]

For instance?

 

Any actual examples, or just hysterical tabloid nonsense?

 

What has been liberalised, then exploded?

 

Gambling is just one.......

[Glamrocker]

I read a book about a girl who worked in a "legal" brothel in Amsterdam ,it seems there is more corruption and using of the women ,plying them with drugs,forced prostitution etc than there was before they were legalized

[Jason Bourne]

The most vulnerable women are forced into street walking and at risk from nutjobs...

 

+1

 

And what happens when the prostitutes are caught and convicted? They're fined. And how do they pay the fine? Hmm? By going out on the streets again!

 

We are a civilised society, and have to do something to take better care of these vulnerable young girls on the street, many of whom come from damaged backgrounds and are on drugs (which numb the pain and degradation of their work) and need to pay for their addictions somehow

 

Whether legalisation of brothels is the answer, I don't know. But severe punishments for the pimps and those who exploit them would be a good start.

 

x

[Bonzo77]

After the Crossbow Cannibal murders of those poor women, is it time to recognise that the law places vulnerable women in danger?

 

I'm not talking about suburban brothels, they could be in business parks, next to Homebase or something.

 

As it stands our outdated and puritanical laws are making working girls' lives more dangerous.

 

 

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23910182-call-to-reform-prostitution-laws.do

 

I don't think as many women are forced into selling sex as we might think. Don't get me wrong, it does happen and it is a problem, but I think a lot of women do it because they enjoy it and they can earn £100's an hour, especially the higher class escort.

[taxman]

I don't think as many women are forced into selling sex as we might think. Don't get me wrong, it does happen and it is a problem, but I think a lot of women do it because they enjoy it and they can earn £100's an hour, especially the higher class escort.

 

Are there many of them knocking around Kelham Island or Manningham?

[spindrift]

Gambling is just one.......

 

Evidence?

 

 

Any?

 

At all?