THOSE who supported the prostitution laws designed to take prostitutes off the streets can't say they weren't warned.
Judging by statistics released by the Edinburgh prostitute support group Scotpep, the worst fears of those who said prohibition would put the women in greater danger have been fully realised.
A doubling of the number of attacks since streetwalking
was effectively outlawed should be a matter of extreme concern, but the political mood swing away from tolerance means there is little chance of a return to the previous position, where the trade was allowed to continue in controlled zones away from residential districts.
Of course, the perpetrators of violence should be the first to be condemned, and there is no excuse for attacks on vulnerable women, no matter how they earn their living. But the fact remains that the new laws have put these women in greater danger than was previously the case.
Admittedly there are fewer women on the streets, but there is no evidence the numbers involved in prostitution have dropped and instead they are finding other clandestine ways to meet with clients. This should be no surprise, because the new regulations have done nothing to tackle the broader reasons for women selling themselves in this way – usually drug or alcohol addiction.
According to Scotpep, those who continue to work outdoors are more vulnerable to attack from the remaining customers, as the more "respectable" men have effectively been forced away, leaving the even more unsavoury individuals who don't care if they are prosecuted for kerb-crawling.
So much is made of the Swedish example, where buying sex was made illegal years ago, but it seems the vice trade is experiencing a resurgence. But a proper comparison with Sweden must include all social factors and not just anti-prostitution laws. Levels of drug addiction are far lower than here and the number of active prostitutes is accordingly low. Further, Swedes down on their luck also have a generous welfare safety net, which means fewer women are driven by economic necessity to go on The Game.
The kerb-crawling laws have done nothing to alter the desire of some men to buy sex and the majority who do not inflict violence, however sad or seedy, have been turned from otherwise law-abiding men into potential criminals.
Both groups of people are in need of help, not the force of criminal law or the condemnation of extremists.
The full article contains 413 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
