Time to legalise and protect sex workers

YESTERDAY we reported on a survey that found that almost half of men who buy sex are in a relationship. As many said they paid for sex a few times a year. Some, heart-warmingly, expressed concern for women working in the sex industry.

Today we report on an American Government study that found an increase in human trafficking from Romania or Nigeria drove a 73% increase in sex industry exploitation or forced labour cases last year.

Suspected human trafficking jumped from 46 in 2014 to 78 in 2015, some 22 of whom were children. The US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report 2016 said that 48 people were suspected victims of sex trafficking and that 28 were exploited for labour trafficking.

The reports are inextricably linked.

The sex industry — of sex punters if you prefer — has a boundless appetite for new recruits and that demand cannot, nor can it ever be, met by consenting adults. Compunction, force, deception, poverty and fear are used to ensure a continuous supply of “fresh meat” to brothels or clubs.

For generations sexual activity was pronounced upon by religious leaders, but that intervention is no longer relevant.

This is a straightforward human rights issue. But can we, like the Catholic Church of old and this society, continue to look away, pretending that this exploitation is acceptable on any level?

It is time to legalise and regulate this industry — and better protect those who are forced to work in it.