Written evidence submitted by Northern Refugee Centre VAW 0016

Inquiry into violence against women and girls (VAWG)

Executive Summary

1. The exploitation of women and girls through sex trafficking is a severe form of human rights violation. Preventing this form of violence against women requires tackling the demand for prostitution and the UK has multiple international obligations to do so. However, the UK Government is currently taking insufficient action to reduce demand. Criminalising the purchase of sex and decriminalising the sale of sex (the 'Nordic Model' of prostitution) has been shown to be effective in reducing demand for sexual exploitation, changing public attitudes and making the country in question a more hostile destination for traffickers. Northern Refugee Centre therefore urges the Joint Committee on Human Rights to recommend that the Government criminalise the purchase of sex and decriminalise the sale of sex in order to prevent trafficking and sexual exploitation.

About Northern Refugee Centre

2. Northern Refugee Centre is an independent charitable organisation that works to promote the welfare of refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants. We aim to ensure that refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants are welcomed, valued, and enabled to contribute fully to the communities and economies in which they live. Northern Refugee Centre provides a comprehensive range of front-line services across Yorkshire and the Humber, including advice, education and employment support. We operate dedicated services in Hull, Sheffield, Wakefield, Bradford, Kirklees and Leeds.

Evidence

3. The trafficking of women and girls for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation is a modern form of slavery and a gross human rights violation. Sex-trafficking into England and Wales is worth at least £130 million annually, while the social and economic costs of the problem are estimated at £890 million[i]. In 2009 the Association of Chief Police Officers reported that 2600 migrant women in England and Wales had been trafficked for sexual exploitation in to brothels and other premises and a further 9,200 were identified as vulnerable to being trafficked or may have been trafficked previously[ii]. These figures, however, are thought to be a significant underestimation of the true scale of trafficking into the UK . Migrant women were estimated to account for over half of those involved in off-street prostitution[iii], and the region of Yorkshire and the Humber was identified as having the second highest number of brothels in England and Wales[iv].

4. At present a significant portion of migrant women who have been trafficked into the UK and sexually exploited find themselves criminalised. Almost 25% of women referred to the Poppy Project - a provider of support for victims of trafficking - are from prisons and detention centres[v]. This is despite the fact that Crown Prosecution Service guidance stresses the importance of non-prosecution of trafficking victims for crimes committed as a direct result of their trafficking situation. Research into the experiences of over 600 foreign national women incarcerated in the UK in 2012 also found nearly half of the women interviewed had been forced into prostitution[vi].

5. Northern Refugee Centre believes that the UK Government is currently taking inadequate action to reduce and prevent sex-trafficking. This is due to the fact that there are insufficient efforts to reduce demand for commercial sexual exploitation. The criminal industry of sex trafficking is premised on the principle of supply and demand. It is predominantly men wanting to pay for sex with women and girls who provide the demand. It is this demand that traffickers and other facilitators are responding to and profiting from when they supply predominantly women and girls into the prostitution 'market'. Therefore, tackling the demand for prostitution is a fundamental component of reducing and preventing trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

6. As the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Home Affairs has stated, “only by addressing demand for all forms of exploitation can we can begin <to> address trafficking in human beings… we cannot address the sexual exploitation of victims (the overwhelming majority being girls) without addressing the users.”[vii] Indeed, the EU Anti Trafficking Co-ordinator, Myria Vassiliadou, has further stated, “There is a link between prostitution and trafficking. The European Commission recognises this.”[viii] In the case of sex trafficking, women are trafficked into the same prostitution 'market' that women in prostitution whose experiences do not meet the strict definition of trafficking are involved in. Ruhama, a Non Governmental Organisation in Ireland that works with women affected by prostitution, cite documented evidence of victims of trafficking being forced into prostitution in brothels alongside women who's experiences were not reported to meet the legal definition of trafficking[ix].

7. There has been a recently detected marked increase in the demand among men in the UK for prostitution. The number of men paying women for sex almost doubled during the 1990's, with the rate increasing from one in 20 men to nearly one in 10 men between 1990 and 2000[x]. This is in stark contrast to the recent trajectory of prosecution rates for pimping and kerb-crawling offences - which halved between 2009-10 and 2012-13[xi].

8. Research assessing possible deterrents to men paying women for sex has revealed that criminal sanctions are a key method. Research conducted with 110 men in Scotland who bought women in prostitution found 79% of the respondents said having to spend time in jail would deter them from buying sex, while 72% reported that greater criminal penalties would do so[xii]. Interviews conducted with 113 men who paid for sex in Chicago (US) found 83% of the men said that a potential consequence of jail time would deter them from buying sex. 75% of the men said greater criminal penalties in general would deter them from paying women for sex[xiii]. Additionally, research conducted by the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University with 137 men who paid women for sex found, "the accounts of men who had paid for sex overseas confirm that legality contributes to normalisation, which in turn increases the likelihood of paying for sex."[xiv] There is also evidence that the legality of buying sex from a person significantly influences rates of sex trafficking into the country in question. An empirical analysis for a cross-section of up to 150 countries found reported human trafficking inflows were larger in countries where prostitution is legal[xv]. 

9. The UK has international obligations to reduce demand for sexual exploitation. CEDAW[xvi] and the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children[xvii] require countries to reduce the demand for exploitation in order to prevent sex trafficking. Article 9.5 of the Protocol states: “States Parties shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures, such as educational, social or cultural measures, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking”[xviii]. Similarly, the EU Directive on trafficking in human beings requires member states to take action to reduce demand in order to prevent trafficking[xix]. The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence requires signatory states to take the necessary measures to prevent violence against women. It will therefore be imperative for the UK Government to reduce demand for commercial sexual exploitation in order to realise this obligation.

10. In recognition of the UK Government's international obligations to reduce demand for commercial sexual exploitation and the critical role of criminal sanctions as a deterrent to purchasing sex acts, Northern Refugee Centre strongly urges the Government to criminalise the purchase of sex in the UK and decriminalise the selling of sex. This legislative change must be accompanied by the provision of sustainable support services for those in prostitution and those wishing to exit prostitution. This legislative approach to prostitution is commonly referred to as the 'Nordic Model' or 'Swedish Model' and it has been adopted by three out of the four countries with the highest ratings for gender equality worldwide: Sweden, Iceland and Norway.[xx] This legislative model enables formal recognition of prostitution as harmful to women and girls, resulting from and perpetuating gender inequality. Crucially, the legislation seeks to have a normative effect: changing public attitudes by challenging the belief that it is acceptable to treat women and girls as sex objects by paying them for sex.

11. There is substantial evidence of the effectiveness of the Nordic Model in reducing the prevalence of and demand for sexual exploitation. Sweden was the first country to introduce the legislation in 1999. An investigation of the law by the Swedish Government found that street prostitution in Sweden halved during the period 1999-2008 and there is no evidence these women were simply displaced to indoor prostitution or prostitution advertised online.[xxi] During this period, the number of women in street prostitution tripled in Denmark and Norway where purchasing sex was legal[xxii]. The investigation also reported, "[a]ccording to the National Criminal Police, it is clear that the ban on the purchase of sexual services acts as a barrier to human traffickers and procurers considering establishing them-selves in Sweden."[xxiii]. Simon Häggström of the Prostitution Unit of the Stockholm Police reports, "We've had wiretapping cases where pimps say they don't find Sweden attractive,".[xxiv]

12. Researchers at the Nordic Institute for Women’s Studies and Gender have revealed a reduction in the number of men paying for sex in Sweden. A survey in 1996 found 13.6% of men reported buying sex, while a similar survey in 2008 found this figure had dropped to 7.9%[xxv]. Research also suggests the criminalisation of the purchase of sex has influenced attitudes among the general public. While the majority of the Swedish population was opposed to the law before it was introduced, three surveys have shown that a decade on from its introduction more than 70% of the population fully support it[xxvi].

13. In addition to Sweden, Norway and Iceland, the French parliament voted in 2013 to criminalise the purchase of sex and decriminalise the sale of sex (the 'Nordic Model'). A 2013 report from the Finnish Ministry of Justice calls for the criminalisation of the purchase of sex acts and the complete decriminalisation of selling sex. In Ireland the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality unanimously recommended in 2013 that the Nordic Model be introduced there.[xxvii] In February 2014 the European Parliament voted to support the Nordic Model of prostitution[xxviii]. The motion approved by the Parliament, "Emphasises the data that confirm the Nordic model’s deterrent effect on trafficking into Sweden, where prostitution and sex trafficking have not increased, and that this model is increasingly supported by the population, especially by young people, demonstrating that the legislation has brought about a change in attitudes;"[xxix] The European Women's Lobby is also urging members of the EU to implement the Nordic Model in order to prevent trafficking and sexual exploitation. The 'Brussels Call' issued by the body is backed by over 200 women's rights organisations from 27 Member States and five non-EU countries[xxx].

14. Reducing demand is crucial to reducing and preventing trafficking and sexual exploitation. Criminalising the purchase of sex and decriminalising the sale of sex has been shown to be effective in reducing demand for sexual exploitation, changing public attitudes and making the country in question a more hostile destination for traffickers.

Recommendations

15. Northern Refugee Centre urges the Joint Committee on Human Rights to recommend that the Government:

• Decriminalise the selling of sex and provide support services for those in prostitution and exiting services for those who wish to leave; and
• Criminalise the purchase of sex, thereby tackling the demand that fuels sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.

4 March 2014

References