By Gudrun Schultz
UNITED KINGDOM, London, January 17, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The UK is changing the definition of what constitutes a brothel, in order to allow more prostitutes to work from the same location. The Government is introducing legislation that will allow up to three women to work from the same address, in an effort to increase safety for sex trade workers.
The strategy document, which applies to England and Wales, said: “At present only one person may work as a prostitute – more than that…and the premises are classed in case law as a brothel.”
“This runs counter to advice that women should not work alone in the interest of safety. The Government will make proposals for an amendment to the definition of a brothel so two or three individuals may work together.” (Scotsman)
The government is expected to officially reject an earlier proposal to openly legalize brothels.
Countries such as Australia and Germany, that have legalized prostitution in an attempt to minimize the social problems associated with the sex trade, such as drug use, have found these laws to have the opposite effect. In Australia, one study found prostitution rates exploded after legalization, with organized crime involvement a growing problem.
England’s Home Office estimates 80,000 people work in the sex trade, four out of five of them women, more than half under the age of 25. Many sex trade workers are young women brought in illegally from overseas, in particular from Eastern Europe.
See related LifeSiteNews coverage:
Germany Rethinks Legalized Prostitution
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05051301.html
New Zealand Legalizes Prostitution
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/jun/03062504.html