Publications Sex Trade

Legitimising Pimps & Punters

The sex trade lobby states prostitution ‘is just work’ and any problems can be prevented through regulation. It calls not just for those selling sex to be decriminalised but for pimps and punters to be decriminalised. These are the consequences:

Globally

Evidence across the globe shows that legitimising the sex trade makes it more harmful, not less, with increases in abuse, trafficking, child rape prostitution & more:

Legalising prostitution increases trafficking
Study across 150 countries

Legitimising prostitution increases trafficking
EU report

Why legalising increases abuse
Economic theory and the sex trade

Sex Trafficking harder to prevent when prostitution legitimised

Myths of Prostitution (interviews with the prostituted)

Trafficking rises exponential after collapse in Socialism

Survivors’ open letter to the Left’s love of ‘sex work’

Country-by-Country

Germany

Prostitution Legalised (pimps/punters decriminalised, considerable state intervention)
Previously Decriminalised (pimps/punters decriminalised, little state intervention) :

Deaths with 1/2 million in state brothels

Yearly murders/Attempted murders

The truth about Germany’s Mega Brothel

Germany – a key destination for traffickers

Germany – Exploitation and Trafficking

German sex trade – an overview

90% of the prostituted are migrant women

Holland
Prostitution legalised

Brothels ‘A failed social experiment’: Mayor of Amsterdam

Holland to criminalise men who buy trafficked women

Trafficking in Holland

Holland moves to end sex trade entirely

Ipswich pre 2006
Penalise the prostituted/legitimise the industry
Both approaches were tried. 5 women murdered by serial killer

Leeds
Prostitution allowed in a ‘managed zone’

Women selling sex are being criminalised, not punters

Rapes, murders assaults

The reality of the zone

Holbeck: A case study of hell

Nevada
Prostitution Legalised

A hub for sex trafficking & murder

New Zealand
Prostitution ‘decriminalised’ (pimps & punters decriminalised, not just those who sell sex, with little state control)

Overview

Destination for trafficking & child rape prostitution

A hub for human trafficking

Indigenous women and children the target for traffickers

How Law has increased harm for the prostituted

Analysis of Child sex trafficking in New Zealand

Survivor speaks out against decriminalising pimps

Australia
Some states have ‘legalised’, some ‘decriminalised’ prostitution

Overview: How legitimising the sex trade has failed

Book: ‘Making Sex Work’ in Australia

Switzerland
Pimps and punters legalised 80 years ago, this includes ‘drive thru’ brothels

The Brutal Reality of 80 years of legalisation

A hub for sex trafficking

The Wider Impact

Prostitution isn’t just about those in prostitution – it affects us all:

Sex buyers more likely to rape women (prostituted or otherwise)

Sex buyers have increased criminal/violence vs women tendencies

End Demand, Support Women Out

Many human rights groups see prostitution as inherently and overwhelmingly harmful. So they advocate for ending the demand for prostitution (surprisingly easily achieved), criminalising pimps and supporting women out – the ‘Nordic Model’

Abolitionists call for all prostituted people to be supported out, pimps criminalised and punters deterred. Where properly implemented, this is hugely successful:

The ‘Nordic’ Model
Criminalise pimps/punters support prostituted out

Comparison of different systems

Decriminalising pimps vs criminalising pimps
70 prostituted women murdered in Germany; zero in Sweden

Sweden
Large decrease in trafficking, child rape prostitution, violence against the prostituted

Ipswich post 2006
Street Prostitution eradicated

France
Nearly 400 exit programmes out of prostitution since 2016

The Sex Trade & Covid

Clearly selling sex puts you at high risk of contagion whilst underlying conditions (poor mental & physical health) puts you at high risk of serious infection. In countries that have legalised or fully decriminalised the industry (ie decriminalised pimps and buyers as well as those who sell sex) it’s overwhelmingly those who sell sex , often through desperation, who are being criminalised for ‘breaking the rules’. Meanwhile, ‘Sex Worker Unions’ have been leading the call for the sex trade to re-open, even during the midst of the pandemic, instead of demanding women are helped out of a totally unviable industry

‘use bleach and disinfectant’

Canada: Covid outbreak at strip club

Germany: mega brothel shuts

Germany: Prostituted criminalised during lock down

Leeds: Prostituted being criminalised during lock down not pimps or punters

Comprehensive review of the sex trade and Covid

Swiss prostitution restarted before contact sport

Prostitution Inevitable?

The ‘oldest oppression’ is often described as inevitable, but the reason for its very existence – men’s demand – could easily be eradicated, over night:

Chicago: 90% men deterred by being publicly exposed

France: 80% buyers ‘would never do it again’ after hearing testimony of survivors

Ipswich 2006: policing, zero tolerance, CCTV eradicates kerb crawling within 1 year

Scotland: up to 90% sex buyers deterred by fines/points off driving license

The Human Cost of the Sex Trade

Abuse prior to entry
50% were homeless

70% spent time in care

70% were abused as children

45% were sexually abused as children

Abuse in the sex trade

20-40% globally of those selling sex started as adolescents

up to 50% of women in prostitution started when under 18

95% of women in street prostitution are Class A drug users

70% have PTSD on a par with a torture victim

Women in prostitution with children likely to be living away from them

The mortality rate can be 12 times higher than normal

Women in prostitution up to 18 times more likely to be murdered

90% of women globally want to escape prostitution

The Financial Cost of the Sex Trade

The financial costs of prostitution are astronomical to those in it as well as the state:

Cost to Women in the Industry
Long term negative impact on earnings over a lifetime (p20)

France – Cost to the state €1.3 billion/year

UK Cost to the State – £2 billion/year (p20)

Leeds – prostitution ‘zone’ £200,000/year (p24)

The Cost of Ending Prostitution

In stark contrast, ending the sex trade via the Nordic Model – getting women out and eliminating demand, is hugely cost effective:

Ipswich -Eradicated Street Prostitution
Cost £7,000 per woman per year

France
€2.35 billion seized within 4 years from pimps, reallocated to victims

UK – APPG Prostitution
2:1 Return on Investment in exiting women and ending demand

Legitimise the sex trade! End stigma! .. for who?

It is often stated that ‘stigma kills’ and decriminalising pimps and punters end stigma. But sex buyers in countries that have done this have appalling attitudes towards the women they buy. Legitimising the sex trade does just that – legitimises the sex trade ie the pimps, punters & their attitudes, not the women who are bought and sold:

Germany’s Punters

Victoria, Australia

Sex Buyers during Covid

‘Sex Worker’ “Advocates”

‘Sex Worker’ Unions and even many outreach ‘sex work’ NGOs lead the call to decriminalise pimps, punters, brothel keepers and even sex traffickers (these are all sex workers, of course). And it turns out these groups are comprised overwhelmingly of these kinds of sex workers (pimps). Prostituted women typically do not want to join any kind of union, as this actually makes it harder to do the one thing they really want to do – exit:

‘Sex Worker’ ‘Unions’

‘Sex Worker’ Union (NSWP): Led by Pimp and convicted Sex Trafficker

NSWP Mexico: Chairwoman jailed for sex trafficking

‘Sex Worker’ Union (NSWP): Jailed sex trafficker ‘is a human rights defender’

‘Sex Worker’ Unions: Full of pimps, not the prostituted

‘Sex Worker’ Unions: Advocate for child ‘sex work’

‘Sex Worker’ Unions: Murders ignored in places where pimps decriminalised

Sex Worker’ Union: Uses domestic violence murder to claim ‘stigma kills’

‘Sex Worker’ groups: No support for wiping criminal records for the prostituted

European ‘Sex Worker’ network (TAMPEP): dubs pimped teenagers ‘sex workers’

France ‘Sex Workers’ group (STRASS): ‘a handful of members’

Germany Sex Worker support group (SUBWAY): Underage boys ‘turn tricks’ as ‘sex workers’

Germany Sex Worker support group (SUBWAY): ‘Goal is not to get people out of prostitution’

Germany Sex Worker Union (BesD): Represents 0.01% of those who sell sex

Germany Existing Trade Union: Membership opened to prostituted – a handful joined

Germany: 1 million in prostitution, 1% registered with Trade Unions

Holland ‘Sex Worker’ Group (Red Thread): Led by academics who minimise harm

Indian ‘Sex Worker’ NGO (SANGRAM): Cut off from US funding for enabling pimps

Spain ‘Sex Worker’ Group (Ambit Dona): None of it members had been in prostitution

Spain Existing Trade Union: Membership opened to prostituted – not one joined

New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC): Lies & misinformation given to those who sell sex

New Zealand Prostitute Collective (NZPC): Prostituted children are ‘workers’ ‘selling a service’

UK International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW): Run by a pimp

Hushke Mau, Survivor: ‘If we join a Union it would be impossible to get out of this ‘job”

‘Human Rights Advocates’

UN Advisor: Advocates for teen prostitution

UN Aids/UN Women: Adopts policies of known pimp and (since jailed) sex trafficker

UN: Calls for decriminalising pimps & punters

Unicef: using term ‘child sex worker’ (works with global network of ‘sex workers’, NSWP)

WHO: ‘decriminalise pimps & punters to reduce spread of HIV’

#MeToo and #TimesUp: ‘Survivor’s Agenda’ views pimps as business men

Amnesty International: Policies dictated by UK’s largest pimp

Global Fund for Women: pro prostitution*

CARE International: appears to endorse prostitution*

Human Rights Watch: pro decriminalising pimps*

Open Society Initiative: Staunchly pro-decriminalising pimps*

Political Powers

Governments and others: In Denial

European Commission: States can add prostitution ‘revenue’ to GDP

Dutch Government: Founded & funds ‘Red Thread’ pro pimp NGO

New Zealand Govt: Children are ‘sex workers’, minimal penalties for their buyers

New Zealand Govt: Glamourisation of prostitution does not encourage girls to enter

Lib Dems: Pro pimp, pro-porn, pro-sex trafficking

Bank Rollers

George Soros: ‘Bankrolling’ the pimp lobby *

Bill & Melinda Gates:eg $1 million to Indian ‘sex worker union’ *

New Zealand State: Funds pro pimp ‘Prostitute Collective’

56 NGOS have funded £8million to pro prostitution projects. Top funders*:

-Ford Foundation: giving on average grants of £100,000

-American Jewish World Service: providing £1/2million/year

-Mama Cash

-Open Society Initiative

Other Unions

Junior Doctors: Urge BMA to support decriminalising pimps

Nurses Union: Advocates for decriminalising pimps

GMB, ASLEF, TUC Union: Tactics used by the pimp lobby

*From Julie Bindel’s ‘The Pimping of Prostitution’ Chap 7

Pornogander

The sex trade lobby misrepresents the industry, stifle those who oppose it, including survivors, whilst promoting the industry’s agenda. The mass media (and social media) then acts as little more than its mouth piece. Survivors invariably testify that media normalising and glamorisation of the sex trade plays a significant role in the ‘choice’ to enter it:

Media pornogander

Lies & manipulation

Survivors on Media Glamourisation

Leeds’ Review of its Prostitution ‘Managed Zone’
More Lies & Manipulation

New York Times: Lies and misinformation

Germany TV & celebs promote ‘peado’ prostitution

Germany – numerous TV shows promote brothels

UK – TV shows promote brothels (‘A Very British Brothel’)

UK- TV promotional shows (‘A Very Yorkshire Brothel’)

What Sex as Work means

Germany: Woman sued for not giving punter orgasm

Australia, Denmark: Men can access prostitution on the public health system

Towns cannot say no to a brothel in countries that legitimise prostitution

The Myth of Unionisation

Porn/Sex Trade pornogander in schools

Lib Dem suggests ‘sex work’ at school career days

Sex Ads Everywhere

Forms of Prostitution

There might be many different forms of ‘selling sex’ but the entire industry plays by the same rule book

‘Rooms for Sex’

Canada

Indoor Prostitution

No safer than street prostitution

Harm of indoor prostitution

Webcamming

The Reality – by a survivor

The Truth about ‘Only Fans’

Webcam death by asphyxiation

Myths & Harms of online Sex ‘Work’

‘High Class’ Escorts

It’s often stated that ‘high class’ escorts can make a fortune with little risk. Really? (don’t forget, the men who buy them will be ‘Harvey Weinsteins’)

By a survivor

‘Sugaring’

Sugar Daddy ‘Dating’: Sex is almost always part of the exchange P10

More

The Racism of Prostitution

(Male) charity workers have long used prostitutes

More Resources

Demand Change

Demand Abolition

Nordic Model Now

‘The Pimping of Prostitution’ Julie Bindel

‘Making Sex Work: A Failed Experiment’ Mary Lucille Sullivan