*Saved* Scotland tackles kerb crawlers

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by delphyne on Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:31 pm
Forty arrests already!

http://www.citylocal .co.uk/cities/Dundee/news/article/11868/

"Crackdown on kerb crawlers - 14-01-2008

Kerb-crawlers now face arrest, a criminal record, a hefty fine and potentially losing their right to drive under the terms of new laws that are now in force.

That was the warning from Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and senior police today as the Scottish Government launched a publicity campaign to highlight the fact that it is illegal to try to buy sex on Scotland's streets.

The law has traditionally criminalised only the individuals selling such services, while leaving untouched those who demand them. However, 40 men have now been charged with soliciting for sex since the law was changed.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and Assistant Chief Constable John Neilson in GlasgowAn opinion poll commissioned for the campaign found that most people were aware that kerb crawling is a crime - although one in eight respondents either believed the practice was legal or didn't know the law.

The campaign, supported by an enhanced enforcement campaign, comprises posters, mobile billboards and materials in pubs, and highlights the legal and social costs of kerb crawling and prostitution.

More than a third of respondents said the threat of being 'named and shamed' was the most effective deterrent, while 14 per cent felt the potential £1,000 fine, and 12 per cent being found out by friends and family, was the main disincentive.

The Scottish Government is currently working with Westminster to ensure that in future the courts will have the power to disqualify offenders from driving.

Mr MacAskill said:

"We are making it clear that prostitution damages the individuals caught up in selling sex and the communities involved. And that those whose demand fuels this relentlessly corrosive and abusive 'trade' now face the full force of the law.

"We must also protect the wider community. Women should be free to go about their day-to-day business without being harassed by kerb-crawlers, and children should be able to play freely without stumbling across the detritus of prostitution.

"While ensuring the law now deals with both parties, clearly we must support the women involved - most of whom struggle with substance misuse and, or poverty, and many of whom are forced into prostitution by pimps or abusive partners.

"So we are supporting local authorities and other agencies to work with the women to help them take routes out - out of the sex 'trade', out of poverty and substance misuse and into legal, safe employment, into a new life of hope.

"To those who have previously bought sex or who are considering it, I say don't. Don't try to convince yourself that it does not harm the women involved - it does.

"Don't try to convince yourself it does not harm the communities where women are harassed and families refuse to let their children play in the streets and parks.

"And don't fool yourself that your actions and their consequences will not harm the very things closest to you - your family, friendships and employment. It will."

Assistant Chief Constable John Neilson, who leads on prostitution for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), added:

"Clearly street prostitution won't be eradicated overnight but we're very encouraged by the positive and immediate impact our efforts seem to be yielding across Scotland. Some 40 men have been charged with offences relating to loitering or soliciting within the first 12 weeks of enforcement.

"Our front-line officers, partners and community groups are reporting a fall in the number of sellers and purchasers, the streets are quieter and there is no doubt that the enforcement activity is already having a positive impact on communities.

"For anyone not yet convinced that our efforts will be sustained, I can assure them, there will be no safe haven. Do not loiter, either in a vehicle or on foot, for the purposes of engaging in prostitution or you will be caught.

"We are aware of the sensitivities associated with such a robust enforcement policy and concerns that surround the women and men engaged in prostitution as sellers. We are working closely with our various voluntary and statutory partners, who support our efforts through harm reduction and outreach work."

Jan Macleod, Senior Development Officer for the Women's Support Project, said:

"I welcome this campaign. People need to be made aware, both of the existence of the new legislation, and of the rationale behind tackling the demand from men to buy sex.

"Recent Scottish research with men who buy sex found that up to 86% said they would be deterred by criminal sanctions, and/or being 'named and shamed'.

"As well as criminal sanctions we must use education to challenge attitudes and behaviour, so as to reduce the abuse of women in prostitution, while also ensuring that harm reduction services continue, with increased resources made available."

The Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act 2007, which came into force on October 15, criminalises soliciting for the purpose of obtaining the services of someone engaged in prostitution, and loitering for the same purpose. Fines of up to £1,000 may be imposed on conviction.

The Scottish Government is currently working with the UK Government to ensure that the power to disqualify drivers (an issue reserved to Westminster) convicted of the new offences is made available to Scottish courts in future.

It remains an offence to solicit or loiter, in a vehicle or on foot, in a public place for the purpose of selling sexual services, with offenders liable to a fine of up to £500.

The four cities where street prostitution predominantly occurs have been given £1 million to develop comprehensive local strategies to tackle the various associated problems."

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by StuartM on Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:33 am

It seems that the authorities are determined to enforce the new law fully (while avoiding some of the inadequacies of the similar, and much older, legislation in England) and I've actually been quite impressed by some of the things I've heard from Kenny MacAskill on this. However the law unfortunately applies only to kerb-crawling and not to the act of paying for sex in itself and there's plenty of so-called 'massage parlours', particularly in Edinburgh, which are still allowed to operate freely all over Scotland.

But I do think public attitudes might be changing, at least a little, and I was surprised, and delighted, when last week at university my sociology class was discussing the global sex industry and practically every single one of female students, as well as the tutor, took a really strong radical feminist stance. They talked about how the media portrays women as sex objects and tells them that they have to fit in with narrow and oppressive male defined roles. On prostitution itself everyone was largely unanimous that most women are forced into it and that noone would genuinely choose to do it - someone said that prostituted women have been convinced by patriarchal society that they're 'worthless' and the tutor emphasised the way in which women's bodies are reduced to commodities to be used and controlled by men. There were only two other males in the class and both remained silent.

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by StuartM on Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:31 pm

Another article from the BBC today. The number arrested has now risen to 80 and police claim there's been a significant reduction in demand:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/gla ... 268940.stm

Dozens charged with kerb crawling

Dozens of men have been charged with kerb crawling since a new law came into force in October, it has emerged.

Police said about 80 men had been charged, about half of them in Glasgow's red light area.

There has also been a reported fall in the number of prostitutes plying their trade on the streets.

Under the law, kerb crawlers can be fined up to £1,000. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said they could also expect the shame of exposure.

He said: "I'm very encouraged that the police are reporting a significant reduction in demand alongside the fact that those who continue to flout the law are being prosecuted.

"In future they also face losing their driving licence."

John Neilson, of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, said the legislation had made a "big difference".

"We have reduced the demand significantly," he said.