Crime of soliciting to be scrapped?

Report proposes new laws to apply equally to prostitutes and clients

News, 16 December 2004

The crime of soliciting could be scrapped under new measures to improve the safety of the 14,000 prostitutes working on Scotland's streets.

Proposals announced today by the Expert Group on Prostitution, appointed by the Scottish Executive, suggest replacing it with a new offence of "offensive behaviour or conduct", which would apply to both prostitutes and their clients.

As a result, says the report, there would be no need for statutory "tolerance zones" where criminalisation of soliciting is suspended. Instead local authorities could set up their own "managed areas" for street prostitution to minimise disruption to the public and discourage clients from searching for women elsewhere.

Sandra Hood, chair of the group, said the new measures were designed to ensure the law does not "stigmatise the person soliciting but not the person buying sexual services", as it does at present.

She said: “Instead, we want to replace the criminalisation of soliciting with an offence that targets offensive behaviour or conduct towards the public arising from someone either buying or selling sexual services…..

“Our changes to the law would also mean that there would be no need for separate legislation in relation to kerb crawling. Although kerb crawling itself would not be an offence, offensive behaviour or conduct arising from or connected to kerb crawling would be.

"So anyone cruising around looking to buy sex in a way which causes alarm or offence could be caught under the new legislative provisions.”

Other suggestions in the report include a national framework for local authorities to adopt in response to street prostitution and local and national initiatives to educate the public about prostitution and associated risks.

Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry said that the Executive will be considering the group's proposals and the responses to them in detail, before announcing plans to address the challenges posed by increasing street prostitution in Scotland.