The Government today announced its strategy to cut street prostitution, by tackling kerbcrawlers and promoting schemes to help women out of prostitution. It promised:

• better enforcement of existing laws against kerb-crawling, including greater use of penalties such as the removal of driving licences from repeat offenders;
• more opportunities for women to leave prostitution, including better links between police and projects that work with prostitutes;
• an increased focus on preventing children from being lured into prostitution.

  Many of the most vulnerable street prostitutes are addicted to drugs. The Prostitution Strategy proposes creating a new penalty for the offence of loitering or soliciting for prostitution, so that when the women are prosecuted the courts can direct them into drug or alcohol dependency treatment.

  The Government and local authorities will also:

• ensure that drug treatment programmes and supported accommodation are available to women who want to get out of prostitution;
• target people traffickers;
• expand the successful Ugly Mugs scheme, which warns prostitutes about violent punters in order to protect them, and link this system with Crimestoppers information;
• produce a guide to services available for sex workers who suffer violent or sexual crimes;
• ensure that Asbos, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts and Intervention Orders are used in conjunction with local support projects, and do not stop prostitutes from getting help;
• change the definition of a brothel so that two prostitutes can work together, to improve their personal safety.

  The Government has however ruled out setting up "managed zones" for prostitution - an approach taken by other European countries including the Netherlands and Austria, where prostitutes are required to have regular health checks.

  Related Links

  • Should mini-brothels be legalised?

  • Mini-brothels could be legalised in prostitution shake-up

  In New Zealand keeping a brothel was legalised in 2003, and brothel-owners obtain licences from the courts, whereas Turkey runs a system of state-run brothels which only employ registered prostitutes.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Donor organ allowed child’s own heart to heal
• Michael Jackson: Not the final chapter
• Sacha Baron Cohen forced to tone down Brüno