women in london

Victory in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation as Government announces that from April 1st paying for sex from a person who has been exploited is a crime.

The Demand Change! Campaign is delighted to announce a major victory for women exploited by the sex industry, as Section 14 of the Policing & Crime Act puts the rights of exploited women over those of pimps and punters. Section 14 means that from April 1st if you pay for sex from a person who has been coerced, forced or threatened you risk a court summons, a criminal record and your name in the paper.

In focusing on the buyers who create the demand for sexual services, Section 14 shifts criminal liability away from people exploited through prostitution and places responsibility firmly on the shoulders of those who contribute to commercial sexual exploitation by choosing to purchase girls, boys, women and men for sexual use.

This is a huge achievement for the 68 women’s and human rights organisations that supported this Act in its passage through Parliament, and campaigned tirelessly to obtain justice for the women, children and men who have for so long been exploited by the sex industry. Many of these organisations attended the successful Demand Change! mass support rally in Parliament Square just before the vote in the House of Lords, calling on Peers to ‘Vote for Women, not Pimps and Punters!’.

Comments from Eaves’ Chief Executive Denise Marshall

“This is fantastic news. Legislation to make it an offence to pay for sex with someone subject to force, who has been exploited, is a ‘no-brainer’. It should clearly be illegal. I am delighted for the women we support, who have a right to live without fear of force, violence or exploitation, and for whom this law is crucial. The vital next step in the process is for those exploited in prostitution to be fully decriminalised and provided with high quality support to exit the sex industry safely, and the Demand Change! Campaign spearheaded by Eaves and OBJECT will continue to press for this.”

Comments from OBJECT’s Campaigns Coordinator Anna van Heeswijk

“Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act brings the buyer out of the shadows and puts the rights of vulnerable women, children and men to live free from exploitation above the demand from punters to buy sex. This is a major victory for all those who have been exploited in the sex industry – many of whom shared their stories in a film screened in front of a packed audience in the House of Commons on the eve of the Act’s debate in the House of Lords – and it is also a victory for all those who have joined the campaign to end commercial sexual exploitation by tackling demand.”

Testimony from ‘Angel’, a survivor of prostitution

“I had to say I enjoyed it and that I chose it – it’s what the johns want to hear, and as a prostitute I existed for their pleasure, my body and words were there for their pleasure. The real me was effectively mute. It makes sense to target the johns and criminalise them, because they hold the money and they have all the power.”