Are current Government tactics to address the issue working? Can lessons be learnt from other European countries?
Loughborough researchers Dr Maggie O’Neill and Professor Phil Hubbard are finding out. In December 2006 the country watched aghast as news unfolded of the murders of five Ipswich prostitutes, propelling into the media spotlight the issue of sex workers’ safety, and reopening the debate on whether, and how, sex work should be regulated. The significance of street sex markets in Britain is hard to gauge, although sex work is a fact of life in many of our cities. As there have been no national, multi-site studies of street sex work previously undertaken it’s extremely difficult to estimate with any reliability or accuracy the numbers of women who sell sex on the streets of British cities. Official figures are derived from Home Office statistics, which relate to cautions and convictions for soliciting offences in England and Wales. These show a reduction in convictions from nearly 10,000 in 1985 to less than 1,000 in 2005. But given that these relate only to illegal activities, they’re not
