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Croydon sex campaigners welcome anti-trafficking laws

11:34am Monday 24th November 2008

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Men who buy sex from trafficked or pimped women face criminal prosecution under new laws welcomed by a Croydon action group.

Croydon Community Against Trafficking(CCAT) have praised the government for introducing the measure which will mean men face prosecution for buying sex from a woman who has been trafficked or is being exploited by a pimp.

The move, announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on November 19, would see such men face a potential life sentence under rape charges.

A spokeswoman from the CCAT said: “Our own research and experience in Croydon supports the idea that the only real deterrent to men paying for sex is the fear of getting caught.

“Therefore, the new laws will hopefully force men to think twice about their actions and the consequences, and also about the women who are being victimised by the illegal slave trade that is human trafficking.”

The organisation sent a strong warning to the borough’s brothels to watch out.

It said: “We want to appeal to men who pay for sex in Croydon's brothels.

“The police, council and community are watching.

“Remember, over 80 per cent of women working in these brothels are likely to have been trafficked – forced into prostitution to satisfy your need.

“You may go into a brothel as a punter, but you could leave as a rapist. Ignorance will be no defence.

“Our message is simply this: your desire to satisfy yourself is enslaving women, exposing you to potential prosecution and these few minutes will ruin your life.

“Stop now, be a real man, and make a stand for the slaves who are being forced to service you each day.”

And the CCAT want to take this further by naming and shaming those who face prosecution under the new laws, claiming “men will be keen to stay out of the media spotlight, especially if they can be potentially charged with rape”.

The CCAT praised the Croydon Guardian’s stance in banning sex advertisements from the newspaper and said other local papers need to “seriously consider” following suit.

A spokeswoman added: “The CCAT will continue to fight and lobby on this issue to ensure that we can end slavery in our town for good.”

• Do you agree with the new laws? Have your say in the comments section below.

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Bob Peel, Croydon says...
11:52am Mon 24 Nov 08

What a jolly good idea Ms Smith. Only problem is, what with sex being a good motivator in such things, will these hapless girls wear a sign stating, "pimped" or "trafficked?"

But then again Ms Smith before you became a politician you were a teacher - another useless profession.

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NastyMrTom, Croydon says...
3:00pm Mon 24 Nov 08


'the new laws will hopefully force men to think twice about their actions and the consequences, and also about the women who are being victimised by the illegal slave trade that is human trafficking'

Seems to be a fairly reasonable expectation. No 'signs' needed.


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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
5:26pm Mon 24 Nov 08

Bob - I am an adult education teacher. Are you calling me useless??? I hope not. I can probably teach you a thing or two as well! :)

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Suzanne Hammond, Conwy says...
2:47am Tue 25 Nov 08

I find it astonishing that so-called responsible organisations like this can immediately label migrant sex workers as trafficked. It’s like saying there’s a lot of jewels in the Tower of London therefore they’re stolen.

There are many migrant sex workers in London just as there are many migrant workers in all service industries in London. Many of them bitterly resent being labelled hapless victims by organisation such as CCAT. Amongst their worst nightmares is probably being ‘rescued’ by CCAT and taken to Poppy to be eaten by Julie Bindel.

This latest Home Office perpetration is likely to further endanger sex workers in Croydon and elsewhere by requiring punters to cross-examine them on details of their personal private lives, something that sex workers above all need to be very careful about revealing due to the implications for their safety and security. The best chance for rescuing trafficking victims, which probability lies in punters discovering their plight and reporting it to the authorities, disappears.

If the world is as full of trafficking victims as CCAT suggests, why have two national police operations involving 55 police forces over nearly two years found only 250 victims out of a Government estimated total of 80,000 UK people in prostitution, or less than a third of one percent?

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Will Stead, Croydon says...
9:10am Tue 25 Nov 08

An Interesting perspective Suzanne. Though one I would suggest is probably not informed in terms of the real picture of trafficking either nationally or locally. Having sat face to face with local, national and international victims of this slave trade, I can assure you they would probably find little solace in the indignation towards organisations like CCAT that you offer. Trafficking is a silent and growing crime and convictions are hard and complex with all sorts of power plays in the mix of victims willingness to testify. There are without a doubt migrant workers who come knoing they will be involved in prostitution. Does that make it right though? Is it right that a woman is so desperately poor in her home situation that she has to 'choose' to come to the UK to sell herself? And is it right that more than likely when she gest here she will be forced to do things that she didnt want to do, be ripped off or not paid at all and forced to be used by more and more clients to meet her daily quota? Let's be real - these women are not women living the glamorous lifestyle portrayed by the likes of Billie Piper. Slavery is anything but glamorous.

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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
10:00pm Tue 25 Nov 08

It's rape, nothing more, nothing less - and several times a day as well. How to feel like a piece of meat.

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Bob Peel, Croydon says...
1:51pm Mon 1 Dec 08

ANNE GILES wrote:
Bob - I am an adult education teacher. Are you calling me useless??? I hope not. I can probably teach you a thing or two as well! :)
Sorry Anne, missed this one. I was referring to Secondary School teachers mainly, not worth a cold carrot. For the record I'd love to go through the book with you anytime and back again, but only if you could keep up!(My regards to Uncle Boko of course).

Seriously; when I was in Aden there was a prostitute known as Ma'ala Mary (Ma'ala being the area she lived in). Mary was on the door charging the troops entry and her daughters were inside supplying the 'goods'. I never went but there are plenty who did. She gets mentioned at Remembrance occasionally.

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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
5:23pm Tue 2 Dec 08

I'll pass your message on to Uncle Boko, Bob. You're probably right about not keeping up, though!! :)

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