UK P4P News

Edinburgh massage parlours have been raided by police. 150 police plus social workers took part in the raid on 7 saunas and 11 associated addresses.

Police said 30 women of various nationalities were interviewed in relation to prostitution and officers are pursuing inquiries relating to several serious sexual offences. But in a statement, police said that arrests so far were related to drugs:

Three people in locations in Edinburgh and Fife have been charged with drugs offences, including supply and cultivation, and it is estimated that assets worth in excess of £ 500,000 have been seized. Large amounts of cash, electronic equipment and documentation relating to business matters have been recovered.

Edinburgh Council said it would act under licensing legislation if criminality were found after the investigations following the raids.

Update: Police criticised

9th June 2013. See  article from  scotsman.com

A large-scale police raid on Edinburgh's brothels has been criticised by a campaign group that offers support to sex workers. Scot-Pep, the charity set up to protect the health of prostitutes, said:

Scot-Pep are very concerned about reports we received from women involved in the raids and question the assertion that this is about keeping people safe. Is it safe to instil fear amongst sex workers of police and social services?

We remain extremely concerned as to whether this is a taste of things to come in light of the attempt to introduce a bill to criminalise the purchase of sex. We advise all sex workers to take extra precautions at this time.

Margo MacDonald, the independent Edinburgh MSP who tried to get a bill through Holyrood to keep Edinburgh's prostitution tolerance zones, said:

If this is a portent of a future change of direction for the management of prostitution, then we can only hope that it does not sweep aside decades of greater success achieved by Lothian and Borders and Grampian police in dealing with prostitution.

The London Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) has just initiated a wide ranging public consultation on measures targetting violence against women and girls (VAWG). This covers domestic violence, religious violence, female genital mutilation, gang related violence, prostitution and trafficking.

For some bizarre reason the chapters on prostitution and trafficking are based on a report commissioned from the extremist anti-prostitution campaigners of Eaves.

Their report predictably comes to all the usual conclusions that men should be locked up for anything related to sex.

It seems a shame for the Mayor's Office to taint an important consultation with one sided views. However it has toned down some of the text pasted in from the Eaves report. Eg Eaves writing that 'men should be criminalised for buying sex' has been toned down to 'men should be criminalised for buying sex from exploited sex workers'

The Eaves report, which must be taken with a pinch of salt, says there has been a recent and rapid rise in the number of women selling sex on the capital's streets. Prostitution is still a thriving industry in many of London's boroughs.

The paper recommends measures intended to address the growing problem including the decriminalisation of those who sell sex and the wiping of their criminal records. This, authors argue, would remove a significant barrier to exiting the sex industry, as records of past offences can hinder job prospects. But  of course they also suggest police target buyers not the women.

As part of the study, data on the number of prostitution-related offences was obtained from the Metropolitan Police. Tower Hamlets had the most arrests (42), between June 2011 and May 2012. Lambeth and Ealing were close behind, with 38 and 21 arrests respectively.

A proposal to criminalise the purchase of sex has found support according to the results of a public consultation.

Almost 1,000 people responded to Labour MSP Rhoda Grant's plan which she hopes will become law in Scotland. Of the total, 80% favour her ban. Grant claimed:

There has been an excellent response, and I now hope we can use the evidence provided to change society's attitude towards buying and selling sex, thereby protecting vulnerable people.

The primary argument that the demand to buy sex will decrease was acknowledged in the responses of those in favour and against the proposed Bill. This would have a knock-on effect on sex trafficking as Scotland would not be seen as a profitable market by traffickers. This will ultimately mean an overall decrease in the level of prostitution in the country.

Of 953 responses, 758 favoured her approach which is based on legislation in Sweden.

Of the individual responses, 47 are from people who work or worked in the sex industry . One anonymous respondent wrote:

I chose to escort for money. I enjoy it. I do not feel exploited or dehumanised. I feel liberated, excited, expressive, creative and earning good money. I am one of very few people who actually enjoys their job.

Business networking site LinkedIn has banned sex workers from creating profiles or using the platform to promote their services.

LinkedIn has advised its 225 million members of changes to its terms of service in a post on its site. The revised terms of use state that users are not to create profiles or provide content that promotes escort services or prostitution.

The updated User Agreement says members are not to undertake the following:

Upload, post, email, InMail, transmit or otherwise make available or initiate any content that ... Even if it is legal where you are located, create profiles or provide content that promotes escort services or prostitution.

LinkedIn previously prohibited the advertising of unlawful services on its site but prostitution is legal in some of the jurisdictions where the website's users are based.

The Invisible Men Project aims to selectively reveal what some men who visit sex workers say about the women involved.

PunterNet is a website forum where men can comment on and review sex workers. It includes warnings about reporting any potentially underage or trafficked women, and it offers sex workers a right of reply to bad reviews.

Now, The Invisible Men Project is gathering a selection of posts from Punternet to ask a simple question: never mind the debates about the ethics of sex workers themselves, what do you think of the men who pay them? As the site puts it: Without seeking to prove, disprove or debate choice on the part of the women described, we invite you to consider: what do you think of his choice?

However the comments being published are clearly cherry picked to support the anti-sex work cause.

The makers of an online commercial advertising Come4 , a not-for-profit website promising a new vision of sex , have expressed disappointment after it was withdrawn from YouTube because the video-hosting site judged that its content violated its terms of service .

The provocative film opens with an unseen narrator relating an early episode of unrequited love before going on to talk about his experiences with prostitutes. As the imagery becomes increasingly explicit, the mystery voice describes visiting brothels with his father and reveals that together they take time to choose the right one and explains that he loved his first time so much, he decided to come back with his friends .

This frank series of admissions is being provided by disability rights campaigner Asta Philpot, who is describing a trip he made to a Spanish brothel with a group of disabled virgins, the subject of a 2007 documentary broadcast by the BBC.

Philpot describes YouTube's decision as pretty disgusting and feels that if they'd seen beyond the naked breasts and recognised the message behind the film, they'd have realised that it's actually ethical. A friend of mine died without ever having a [sexual] experience and I don't ever want to let that happen again.

Edinburgh's sex industry is facing a double threat to its future after it emerged legal and political moves are under way which could spell the end of the capital's licensed saunas.

A legal appeal against the city council's decision to renew a sauna license will be heard next month. Anti-sex work activists hope to use this as a test case to mount a wider assault on sex work.

While massage parlours are to be found in most major cities in the UK Edinburgh is noted for both the number of massage parlours and their high visibility. Defenders of the Edinburgh approach explain the status quo keeps female sex workers safe and lets the sex industry be managed in a pragmatic way.

In the past the sauna operators have had few problems with the committee, but Mike Anthony, a moral crusader liaising with Edinburgh-based Zero Tolerance activist group, which claims that sex work is a cause of violence against women, objected to the applications en masse, triggering an evidence session in the city chambers. However the objects were dismissed.

Anthony said :

I am not a moral crusader....[BUT]...What I am steadfastly against is any public authority colluding with organised criminals.

In another development, Labour, which runs the council in coalition with the SNP, appears to be preparing the ground for taking a tougher line on the issue. A new internal working group in Edinburgh is reviewing the party's position on the license issue.

A report says that sex workers in Westminster are at greater risk of violence because of a fall in demand and an increase in those selling sex.

The study by Westminster Council shows the recession has led sex workers to cut their prices, accept more clients and take greater risks. The police, the NHS, council workers and sex work projects contributed to the report. The report says:

Saturation of the market has had the impact of increased competition, meaning some sex workers are now selling sex for less money and providing a wider range of services.

Sex workers interviewed for the report said there had been about a 50% reduction in prices over the last few years. This has meant many are accepting clients who appear to be more dangerous in order to make enough money. They are also having to travel further afield to find clients which means it is harder for police and outreach agencies to keep track of them and provide help.

The study found there is an unsurprisingly high level of under-reporting to the police as the police will prosecute the sex worker reporting the violence, and when sex workers do report violence they do not always receive the help they need.

The report also points out that it can cost the authorities a lot of money when the unreported crimes develop into more serious crimes due to lack of intervention at an early stage.