Government under pressure to review prostitution laws in England and Wales

Source: The Guardian

The government is coming under increasing pressure to review prostitution laws in England and Wales, as neighbours consider following in the footsteps of Sweden and making the buying of sex illegal.

MPs, peers and women's groups based in England are supporting changes being considered by Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and are calling on the government to consider introducing the so-called Nordic model.

"2013 is a year in which parliamentarians will be forcibly pushing for the laws around prostitution to be revised, especially in light of what is happening in devolved administrations," said Gavin Shuker, Labour MP for Luton South, and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on prostitution and the global sex trade. "It is clear that the current legal situation is failing women and it is failing communities, and the government needs to consider if the criminalisation of buying sex could help reduce demand."

In a year that has seen much debate of the emotive issue, Scotland has taken steps towards introducing a bill to follow Sweden, which in 1999 passed a law that criminalised buyers of sex while maintaining the decriminalisation of selling sex. In 2008, Norway passed a similar law, a move followed by Iceland in 2009, while the French minister for women is seeking abolition of prostitution in Europe. Under complex laws in England and Wales, soliciting sex and kerb crawling are currently illegal, as is selling sex in a brothel.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/26/government-pressure-review-prostitution-laws