Sign the petition calling on the Prime Minister to criminalise the purchase of sex and to fund services to help women exit prostitution
Posted on December 2, 2008
Filed Under Campaign, England, Government, Prostitution | Comments Off
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to criminalise the purchase of sexual services so as to curb demand for prostitution and reduce sex trafficking; to decriminalise the sale of sex, and to fund services to help women exit prostitution and secure alternative employment.
Many women first become involved in prostitution as young teenagers, and the use of violence is common in recruiting women and girls into prostitution. Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation is now one of the most profitable forms of organised crime.
Because of the profits to be made from controlling prostitution, it will continue as long as there is a demand for it. The only effective way to prevent the abuses involved in prostitution is therefore to target demand. Swedish legislation criminalising the purchase of sexual services, and providing for support services for those wishing to exit prostitution, has led to an estimated 30-50% reduction in the numbers of women in prostitution in Sweden since its introduction in 1999, and to a significant decrease in trafficking of women into Sweden.
The Swedish legislation was accompanied by public education campaigns about the nature of prostitution. Polls indicate that over 80% of the Swedish population now support this legislation.
Submitted by Ashley Haering of Feminist Coalition Against Prostition
Deadline to sign up by: 02 February 2009
To sign the petition go to http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FCAPpetition1/
Feminist Coalition Against Prostitution (FCAP)
Imagine a world where women and girls are not for sale … Now let’s make it real.
FCAP supports new Govt. proposals criminalising men who exploit women in prostitution ‘controlled by another for gain’, however we believe they do not go far enough and wish our Ministers had taken the chance to make history, draw a line in the sand and say that women and children would no longer be for sale in our country. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/21/prostitution-jacquismith
Comments
women in london- Information added in April 2010
- Information added to website March 2010
- Senior Independent Domestic Violence Advocate – Solace – 9th August 2010
- Independent Domestic Violence Advocate – Solace – 9th August 2010
- Young People Speak Out! and Africa Programme Updates – Forward
- Senior Lecturer (Deputy Director and MA Co-ordinator) – Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit – 3rd August 2010
- Research and Development Manager Maternity Locum – Eaves Lilith Project – 2nd August 2010
- Refuge Workers – Refuge – 2nd August 2010
- Senior Individuals and Events Fundraiser – Refuge – 30th July 2010
- Office Intern – ROW – 30th July 2010
- womensphere
- Spain to ban sex adverts from national newspapers
- Uncertain Role for Female Shariah Judges in Malaysia
- NGOs blame lax government for rise in human trafficking in Nepal
- Sex Workers Face Unlawful Arrests and Detention in Cambodia
- Iraq fights another form of violence – in the home
- Domestic violence deaths rise 40 percent in Argentina
- The link between HIV and gender violence discussed at a workshop in Jamaica
- Polygamy ups HIV infection risk in Kenya
- Women in Ghana told to insist on their decisions on sex
- A Preventable Childbirth Injury That Ruins Lives in Kenya