Croydon Community Against Trafficking campaigners welcome tougher laws on sex-traffic punters (From This Is Local London)

Croydon Community Against Trafficking campaigners welcome tougher laws on sex-traffic punters

7:10am Wednesday 25th November 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(9)

A Croydon campaign group has welcomed a law crimilising punters who may be paying for sex with trafficked women.

The House of Lords passed Clause 14 of the Policing and Crime Bill which makes it an offence to pay for sex with someone who has been subjected to force, deception or threats.

The Bill still has to be passed in the House of Commons.

The clause shifts criminal liability to punters who choose to purchase girls, boys, women and men for sexual use.

The Croydon Community Against Trafficking (CCAT) hailed the bill as a victory for people who have not chosen prostitution but are exploited by the sex industry.

A spokeswoman for CCAT said: “For victims of human trafficking, such as those that are being forced to work in brothels in towns like Croydon, there is a glimmer of hope that seems not too far away.”

The organisation believes that the bill will have a “big impact” on the injustice of human trafficking.

Their research shows that Croydon is one of the biggest ports for human trafficking in the UK.

They have found 50 premises selling sex in the area with 84 per cent of the women working there being foreign nationals.

However for the bill to be passed into law in the House of Commons, more support needs to be expressed.

CCAT is urging Croydon citizens to write to their representatives and ask them to vote in favour of the bill.

Details of how to do this can be found at theccat.com.

• What do you think? Let us know by email here, phone the newsdesk on 020 8330 9555 or leave a comment below.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(9)