Adults and young people abused through prostitution in the UK
Adults and young people abused through prostitution in the UK |
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Key words: Young people, prostitution, legislation, UK
Introduction
In the early part of the 19th century voluntary organisations like Barnardo’s were working with children selling sex. Child prostitution became a matter of great concern to the late Victorians, who began to pioneer child welfare legislation and set the boundaries of what we now call childhood. Charities working in the 1980’s with young runaways noticed that a significant minority of children, who had run away from home or care, was selling sex to survive. Home Office figures showed that around 4,000 children and young people were cautioned and convicted for offences relating to prostitution between 1989 and 1995. The definition of child prostitution needs to encompass many circumstances including young runaways who exchange sex for a bed and a roof over one’s head for the night, as well as a child exchanging sex for some form of payment such as money, drink, drugs and other goods of worth. Barnardo’s (as well as other organisation’s) research overwhelmingly suggests that children involved in selling sex have experienced damaged and chaotic lives. Sexual and physical abuse, poverty, rejection, drug dependence and coercion into prostitution by manipulative and dangerous adults are some of the experiences that children often report.
There is clear evidence that some young girls are “groomed” into prostitution by pimps or “boyfriends”. Their peers introduce some young people into prostitution, usually as part of the last chapter in a complex story in which these young people have suffered collective and systematic abuse of their rights and dignity. The more difficult the young person’s problems, the more difficult it is for a young person to exit and recover from prostitution.
One of the major campaigns that Barnardo’s have embarked on is the identification and decriminalisation of children involved in prostitution . Out of nine Barnardo’s projects around the UK that work specifically with young people involved in prostitution, the organisation made contact with 1364 girls and 851 boys (April 1999 - March 2002).
The local trend was as follows:
Middlesbrough: 87
Stockton: 54
Redcar&Cleveland: 9
Hartlepool: 5
Total to date: 155 (Dec 2002)
Female: 151
Male: 4
Between 1989 and 1995, there were 2,380 cautions issued and 1,730 convictions secured in England and Wales against young people under the age of 18. Criminalising children in this way contributed to adults who abused them, absolving their responsibility for their actions.
It still remains difficult for the police to prosecute adult offenders. Even where the police wish to prosecute, collecting evidence against adults remains an expensive and time-consuming task. In addition, children and young people are often reluctant to give evidence against adults on whom they may depend for emotional and financial survival or security, while fear of violent reprisal and an understandable distrust of the authorities make them unwilling witnesses.
Therefore, the current overhaul of the sexual offence legislation will recognise once and for all in law that children involved in prostitution are victims of abuse and take the perceived responsibility away from the child. The new sexual offences legislation 2003 will include the Offence of commercial sexual exploitation – buying the sexual services of a child, causing or encouraging a child into commercial exploitation, facilitating the commercial sexual exploitation of a child and/or controlling the activities of a child involved in prostitution or pornography. It will also include the Offence of trafficking people for commercial sexual exploitation.
Tolerance zones
There have been many debates locally on Teesside about the need for tolerance zones in order to facilitate an area where adult prostitution can take place. However, there is a need to consider where such a tolerance zone would be situated. Moreover, in the 21st century, should society still be tolerating the abuse of children, young people and women, given the wealth of research and knowledge of how people become involved in prostitution? In addition, Middlesbrough residents total some 143,800 and the town covers a geographical area of 5390 hectares. Therefore the Cleveland Police view is simply that there is no space for such a zone within these tight geographical boundaries.
And the population of Middlesbrough has rejected zones in the past.
In the late 90’s when tolerance zones were considered, we saw an influx of kerbcrawlers coming to the town, who saw the area as soft on prostitution. Through the work of the Middlesbrough Crime and Disorder Prostitution Task Group and Cleveland Police, a strong anti-tolerance zones message was implemented to deter men coming to Middlesbrough for the purposes of purchasing sexual services.
The measures included:
Young girls and prostitution
Whist we have had some local successes in terms of young people’s entry into prostitution - this has decreased by an average of 20% over the last three years. We continue to be without a specific resource for adults involved in prostitution and this needs to be addressed.
For example, recent Home Office statistics reveal that 80,000 women are involved in prostitution - over 50% were under 25 years of age. In addition, in 2002, concerns raised by the Metropolitan Police estimated that 10,000 asylum seeking women and children were trafficked into the UK.
Therefore the need for attitudinal change, a commitment to resources and adequate legal protection will be paramount in combating this major social issue.
The international dimensions of prostitution must not allow us to forget the problems that exist locally and within Britain. The evidence of this can be measured not in hundreds, but in thousands of vulnerable women and children suffering abuse.
©2001 Sexual Health Matters. Published Quarterly by Express Print Works, Middlesbrough,
UK
ISSN 1469-7556
http://www.sexualhealthmatters.com