Written submission from Streetlight UK (MSA0029)

Executive summary

1. Sex trafficking is a highly gendered crime. The majority of victims are female and the overwhelming majority of people who pay to sexually abuse them are male. Sexual exploitation is also the most common form of exploitation experienced by women and girls referred to the National Referral Mechanism.

2. The UK is a high value, low risk destination for sex traffickers. Demand from sex buyers in the UK motivates and funds organised crime groups involved in sexual exploitation. Without the demand from men who pay for sex, there would be no 'supply' of women to be sexually abused for profit.

3. The Government must urgently tackle demand for sexual exploitation by making paying for sex a criminal offence in all locations. It should also decriminalise soliciting in a public place in order to support women exploited through street prostitution to seek help and exit, and provide funding necessary for the provision of support services. 

About Streetlight UK

Streetlight UK is a registered charity, providing a specialist, frontline support service to a specific and vulnerable group of women involved in and affected by prostitution and sexual exploitation - including those trafficked into the sex trade across North Sussex, Surrey and London. The project works in partnership with local police teams, local authorities and other local NGO’s.

In 2017 Streetlight UK took direct referrals from County Councils social services teams, Police Teams, Council and Housing Associations, as well as many self-referrals. Streetlight UK offer an on call service to police teams, accompanying them on 64hrs of live police operations in 2017. Live operations are predominantly to identify victims of human trafficking, supporting the police and the women who wish to exit prostitution and where necessary, to access the National Referral Mechanism for trafficked victims. We also offer and supply sexual health testing kits, in partnership with County Council sexual health teams, to all those we encounter in prostitution, tackling growing sexual health concerns.

In 2018 Streetlight UK formed a partnership with Tower Hamlets Police and local authority to provide a monthly perpetrator education programme for those arrested – predominantly men – for kerb crawling, in order to tackle one of the root causes of prostitution and trafficking into the sex trade – namely men’s demand for sex.

Main objectives are to:

• Offer a non-judgemental and non-discriminatory confidential service, to women involved in prostitution, including those trafficked into the sex trade.
• To support those who wish to exit prostitution, to deal with the trauma and harms of prostitution, which often include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder and mental issues.
• Enabling women to sustain a new life in which they can reconnect with self, family and society, promoting their social inclusion into the larger community.
• Raise awareness and deliver training to professional bodies and the wider community, of the issues surrounding prostitution and the sexual exploitation of those trafficked into the sex trade.

Evidence

The scale and nature of modern slavery:

4. Sexual exploitation is the most common form of exploitation experienced by women and girls who are referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. Similarly, women and girls constitute the overwhelming majority of victims of this type of crime. In 2017 there were 1185 referrals of potential victims of sexual exploitation to the NRM; 94% of these individuals were female[1].

5. Sex trafficking is a distinct and heinous crime. Women who are trafficked for sexual exploitation are subjected not to a form of forced labour, but to rape. Each time a sex buyer pays for sex with a trafficked woman, two crimes are being committed: first, on the part of the trafficker who has exploited the victim; second, by the sex buyer who is committing an act of sexual abuse. There are vastly more sex buyers sexually abusing victims of sex trafficking than there are traffickers profiting from and controlling them, yet action by the Government to address the former has so far been negligible.

6. An analysis of profits generated through modern slavery suggests that sex trafficking is substantially more profitable than other forms of modern slavery. Based on data from 51 countries over a 15 year period, it was found that a victim of modern slavery will generate on average $3,978 (£3,030) a year for their exploiter. However, the average profit generated by a victim of sex trafficking is $36,000 a year[2].

7. Evidence gathered by the Poppy Project[3] revealed that victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are exploited for an average of 8.28 to 20.2 months.[4] With most women trafficked in the UK reporting being subjected to sexual exploitation 6-7 days a week, seeing an estimated average of 13 sex buyers a day, we can expect that the average individual victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation is raped anywhere from 2,798 to 6,828 times. In 2017, 1115 adult women were referred to the NRM for sexual exploitation. Based on the previous calculation, this suggests a minimum of 3.1 million rapes of trafficked women were committed in one year alone. Those rapes were committed by men who pay for sex. The scale of sexual abuse and exploitation of women by sex buyers in the UK is a human rights scandal.

8. An inquiry into organised sexual exploitation conducted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade in 2018 concluded that the Government’s strategy to end sex trafficking is failing, with the UK currently a low risk, high value destination for sex traffickers. The APPG found that the sexual exploitation of women in 'pop-up' brothels by organised crime groups is widespread, and that it is enabled by prostitution advertising websites such as Vivastreet and driven by the minority of UK men who pay for sex.

9. The APPG on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade revealed in its report, 'Behind closed doors: rganised sexual exploitation in England and Wales', that there are at least 212 active, ongoing police operations in the UK into modern slavery cases involving sexual exploitation. The APPG also concluded that "figures for investigations, potential victims and prosecuted offences represent a small fraction of the true scale of organised sexual exploitation."[5] The inquiry found that it is overwhelmingly foreign national women who are being sexually exploited in British brothels. For instance, Leicestershire police visited 156 brothels, encountering 421 women, between 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2017. 86% of the women in the brothels were Romanian. Northumbria Police visited 81 brothels between March 2016 and April 2018, and of the 259 women they encountered in the brothels, 75% were from Romania. Over half of the brothels were recorded as being connected to other brothels, agencies or non- UK Organised Crime Groups.

The need to end demand for sex trafficking:

10. Sex trafficking into and around the UK takes place because of a minority of men who pay for sex. Without demand from sex buyers, there would be no 'supply' of women into sexual exploitation. It is money provided by sex buyers that motivates and funds organised crime groups engaged in sex trafficking.

11. The criminal groups managing the sex trade, remain largely unchallenged as the weight of the law doesn’t address, or encourage a reduction in the demand, from sex buyers, who are predominantly men.

12. Research consistently shows that the vast majority of people who pay for sex are male[6]. A study of 6000 men by University College London found that 3.6% of men had paid for sex in the past five years[7]. Men who were more likely to have paid for sex were young professionals with high numbers of (unpaid) sexual partners.

13. An international study of men who pay for sex, led by the Immigrant Council of Ireland, concluded with respect to sex buyers: “irrespective of a buyers’ knowledge of human trafficking as a crime and as a phenomenon, it is unlikely that they will consider the possibility that a seller may be a victim of trafficking when purchasing sex.”[8] Similarly, Detective Constable Julie Currie of the Modern Slavery and Kidnap Unit at the Metropolitan Police Service told the APPG on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade, "In the vast majority of cases males paying for sex will give no thought to where the woman has come from or what circumstances have lead her into prostitution."[9]

14. In order to tackle demand for sex trafficking, it is necessary to tackle demand to pay for sex. As a 2016 European Commission report on trafficking highlights, "trafficked persons are located within existing sex industries... there is no separate or specific market for trafficked persons"[10]. It is also a requirement under Article 9.5 of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children (the Palermo Protocol) to tackle demand: "State Parties shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures ... to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking."

15. Demand from sex buyers is not inevitable, fixed and unchanging. On the contrary, it is context-dependent, varying over time and place[11]. A critical factor in prevalence rates is the legality of paying for sex. Researchers at London Metropolitan University concluded from research on sex buyers that “legality contributes to normalisation, which in turn increases the likelihood of paying for sex”[12]. A survey published in 2018 asked over 1200 sex buyers: ‘Would you change your behaviour if a law was introduced that made it a crime to pay for sex?’ Over half of the respondents said they would "definitely", "probably" or "possibly" change their behaviour[13].

16. When asked what would deter men in London from buying sex, 77% said a greater criminal penalty.[14]

17. The sex buyers – Examples of some words and phrases men used to describe their own feelings after using a woman in prostitution  included: “I’m not satisfied in my mind,” “looking for more partner satisfaction,” “regretful and remorseful,” “disappointed – what a waste of money,” “angry at myself,” “morally at odds,” “confused,” “lonely – still,” “psychologically dirty,” “guilt about my relationship with my wife,” “asking myself what has led me to this,” and “50% satisfied.” [15]

18. An analysis of up to 150 countries found that trafficking flows are larger in to countries where prostitution is legal[16]. Similarly, a study of European countries found that sex trafficking was most prevalent in nations with legalised prostitution regimes. The researchers suggested: "slacker prostitution laws make it more profitable to traffic persons to a country."[17]

19. The Government is currently failing in its obligation to combat demand from sex buyers. As a result, the UK is a highly lucrative destination for sex traffickers. It is currently legal to pay for sex. While 'paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc' is a crime under Section 53a of the Sexual Offences Act, just one person was prosecuted for this offence in 2017[18]. This limited offence is not being enforced, and it is wholly inadequate as a measure to reduce demand to pay for sex.

Recommendations:

20. To tackle the demand that drives sex trafficking, the Government should make it a criminal offence to pay for sex in all locations. The Government should also remove the offence of soliciting in a public place in order to support women who are sexually exploited through street prostitution to seek help and exit[19]. Countries that have adopted this 'end demand' legislative framework, often referred to as the Nordic model or Sex Buyer Law, are Ireland, Northern Ireland, France, Sweden, Iceland and Norway. 

21. There is extensive evidence that 'end demand' legal frameworks, which make paying for sex a criminal offence but decriminalise the person who is exploited, reduce the demand that drives sex trafficking. Sweden was the first country to adopt this approach in 1999, and surveys conducted in 1996 and 2008 found that the proportion of men who reported paying for sex reduced from 13% to 8%[20]. The most recent research on prevalence rates found that 0.8% of men in Sweden had paid for sex in the previous 12 months - the smallest proportion recorded in two decades and the lowest level in Europe[21]. An official review of Sweden's prostitution legislation noted, "According 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 themselves in Sweden."[22]

22. Since the introduction of the change in the law in 1999 in Sweden, to criminalise the purchase of sex – there has been a sea change in public opinion, where 80% of the population now view prostitution as an act of violence against women and girls and support the law.[23]

23. After 18yrs, there is no evidence in Sweden of increased violence towards women as a result of criminalising sex buyers as stated by the Deputy Chief Prosecutor, International Public Prosecution Office Stockholm, Sweden.[24]

24. A review of Norway’s 'end demand' legislation, which was adopted in 2009, concluded, “A reduced market and increased law enforcement posit larger risks for human traffickers…The law has thus affected important pull factors and reduced the extent of human trafficking in Norway in comparison to a situation without a law.”[25] In recognition of its effectiveness, the Council of Europe has recommended that states adopt the Sex Buyer Law “as the most effective tool for preventing and combating trafficking in human beings”.[26]

25. In order to help and protect victims, support services for individuals involved in commercial sexual exploitation must not be contingent upon identification as a victim of trafficking in the NRM. Dedicated funding for these support services should be provided by the Government in recognition of the prevalence and severity of commercial sexual exploitation[27].

26. The priorities for the new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner must include ending the demand from sex buyers which drives sex trafficking.

September 2018