Criminal record for prostitute users
The home secretary has revealed plans to criminalise men who buy sex without checking to find out if the prostitute has been forced into the position.
Use of normal prostitutes will remain legal to the buyer, but men who buy sex from someone who is being “controlled for another person’s gain” will face a fine and a criminal record.
Home secretary Jacqui Smith said: “Now it will be harder for men who use sex workers. It won’t be enough to say ‘I didn’t know’.
“What I hope people will say is: ‘I am not going to take the risk if there is any concern that this woman hasn’t made a free choice’.”
But sex worker groups have condemned the plan, with the International Union of Sex Workers saying: “The measures they are proposing endanger us all.”
