When β on Wednesday, 19 November, Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary, announced plans to tackle prostitution they included a raft of measures focusing on the men that pay for sex. The rationale for these measures is to be found in a document issued by the Home Office called: Tackling the Demand for Prostitution: A Review. There is no doubt that some of the aim of these measures is justified.
Trafficking can involve tricking girls and women into believing that they are coming to Britain to be, for example, waitresses, but when they arrive they find they are detained against their will and forced to work long hours as prostitutes. This constitutes serial rape. Moreover the victims are liable to face serious problems on returning home.
They may be disowned by their own families and communities, and they or their families may face reprisals from the traffickers.
However, there is a strong suggestion of a moral crusade which links radical feminism and a conservative disapproval of prostitution at work. In a Commons answer on October 9, , Vera Baird, the Solicitor General, was asked why, if there was such a problem with trafficking, there were relatively few arrests. We will look closely at bringing into force deterrent legislation to try to cut demand.
The background to this is two police operations against trafficking. Pentameter 1 took place in It involved all 55 police forces, raided premises, and produced 88 confirmed victims of trafficking. Pentameter 2 β as described in the Home Office Review β took place between October and March , again involved all 55 police forces, raided premises and rescued victims.
