In the United Kingdom, with the exception of Northern Ireland (where the purchase of sexual services is illegal), prostitution law is considered a grey area. Prostitution is not illegal in the UK, but related activities such as recruitment in a public place, pimping and crawling on pavements are illegal. By suspending these laws and creating a fully decriminalised market for prostitution, this radical approach – known as the `managed zone` – has turned a mundane square mile of industrial and bush buildings into an ideological battleground, exposing bitter divisions over Britain`s response to prostitution. Among the critics of this approach is the group, the English Collective of Prostitutes, which says it benefits those who run sex businesses rather than those who work in them. They claim that a secret second stage of prostitution is being pushed underground and that this leads to dangerous conditions for those involved. Early 2000sIn 2001, the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 made it a criminal offence to place prostitution-related advertisements on or in the immediate vicinity of a public telephone booth. Opponents of prostitution also argue that because prostitutes have large numbers of sexual partners, they are more likely to have sexually transmitted infections and are vectors for the spread of these infections – adding a public health dimension to the debate. But at night, this industrial area becomes something completely different. It is turning into the UK`s first designated red zone, where street prostitution takes place openly between 8pm and 6am, without women or sex buyers being prosecuted. A 2012 report by London MP Andrew Boff found that police appeared to target the jobs of all sex workers, whether or not they were suspected of breaking the law. The managed approach was launched by Leeds City Council in 2014 after research revealed that efforts to reduce prostitution were not working. This report was followed in 2016 by an investigation by the House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs.
The research examined the different approaches of countries that had both legalized prostitution and introduced laws against buyers of sexual services. In its report, the committee did not recommend either option and called for more evidence to be provided for this particular debate. It is also claimed that many prostitutes do not want to register under a legalized system, as this threatens their anonymity. Critics of this approach argue that it ignores the impact of this type of legal framework on the safety of sex workers, as many prostitutes are simply driven underground. The Wolfenden Committee views prostitution and its status in law as a moral issue, which is reflected in the text of the Sexual Offences Act 1956. This led to famous debates between Lord Devlin and the philosopher Herbert Hart. The report recommends stricter controls on street prostitution, which are implemented in the Street Offences Act 1959. While it is known to be much safer for sex workers to meet clients on premises with at least one other person, any room used by more than one person for prostitution – even if it is alternating, as is often the case – counts as a brothel.
The decriminalization of prostitution is the regime practiced in some American states and New Zealand. New Zealand is the only country in the world that adopts this approach at the national level. “We issue alarms, we take crime reports and we make sure that when it`s cold or hot, they have basic human needs like food, drink and warm clothes,” she says. “We help them navigate the legal system.” King Charles I, 1625-1649 (you know, the one who was beheaded) granted the establishment a legal license as a brothel. Others suggest that formal regulation of prostitution would help prevent health problems, generate revenue to the treasury through taxes, and eliminate the need for exploitative and abusive pimps. Social conservatives believe that prostitution is inherently and morally corrupt and poses a challenge to family values. Many religious groups support the illegality of prostitution and add another aspect to the debate.