The law on paid for sex in the UK is a mess of hypocricies and compromises that no government wants to address. While prostitution itself is legal, almost any activity around it is criminalised. So, two women who want to work together in a flat will find that the police regard them as ‘managing a brothel’. The manager of an escort agency where all participants are willing, properly paid and treated well may well find that she is committing the serious offence of ‘controlling prostitution’ contrary to the 2003 Sexual Offences Act.
Measures which were designed to protect people working in this area, actually make them far more unsafe, by forcing them to work on their own, out of sight and reluctant to call police if real problems arise. There is a real lack of certainty for those working in this field – establishments which have been operating quite openly for many years, are raided and closed and people prosecuted. Tolerance is suddenly withdrawn. This may be to do with ‘clean up’ operations (the 2012 Olympics in central London or the current gentrification of Soho) or, dare we say it, the money which flows from confiscation of assets following a successful prosecution.
So, while we don’t dispute that there is sometimes exploitation and organised crime in this area, far more often the people involved in it are treating it as a lifestyle choice or a proper business activity which they want to run in a legitimate and beneficial manner. We think they should be able to.
Very few lawyers specialise in this area. We have an in-depth knowledge of the law, procedure and practice relating to the sex industry and can advise you on your rights and obligations as well as assisting you if the police start an investigation. We have dealt with numerous prosecutions of those running escort agencies and massage parlours; we have helped landlords and opposed brothel closure orders; and we have dealt with restraint of assets and confiscation proceedings which go alongside prosecutions for these offences.
This is an area in which we feel strongly that the law is flawed and we campaign for it to be changed. We often work with campaigning organisations such as the English Collective of Prostitutes.
Our escort agencies specialists are part of our London based sexual freedom team. We have four decades of experience helping clients from around the UK with a wide variety of legal matters. For expert legal advice use our contact form or call us on 0808 250 6017 today.
