Some insights into the sex trade in London by Ed Howker.  Read the whole article at The Independent…

Why the sex trade flourishes
Men my age, confused about their role, use prostitutes most
by Ed Howker

The people who go out drinking in Soho never look up. If they did they would notice the red lights beaming from the first floors of bars and TV production houses, restaurants and clubs. They confer a rose-tinted glow on the darkest corners of Britain’s sex trade, welcoming in punters with the hastily penned felt-tipped signs: “Busty, young Polish girl”, “Leggy blonde just into the UK”.

The second sign is posted on my street. “Just into the UK”, my heart sinks when I read it because it almost certainly means there are trafficked girls working as prostitutes in Soho right now. And like the police, I don’t ask questions. So I moved in two years ago and the signs are still up, the girls are still on the street, and everyone still looks down.

I don’t blame them. Soho is electrifying – a Mecca for drinkers and party-goers drawn by its chic laissez-faire attitudes. It is, of course, absurd to move in and complain about the moral tone. But this is a question of degrees. In the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday, the Government laid out new regulations to regulate lap-dancing clubs, forcing them to apply for “sexual encounter” licences.

For sure, the aspiration to free women from sexual slavery is noble but even the most optimistic observer might conclude that these strategies will fail. It took Peter Stringfellow precisely half-an-hour to demolish the “sexual encounter” proposals at a meeting of the Commons culture committee, pointing out that councils already have the power to prosecute clubs for putting on nude shows which they choose not to deploy.

The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has also proposed that men should pay a £1,000 fine if they use a prostitute who has been trafficked, groomed, or controlled by a pimp. How this will work I do not know. Exploitation is even less likely to self-regulate than the banking sector. So what is the Government doing?

This, like much of the Queen’s Speech is message politics. Ms Smith waxes that “there will be no more excuses” (this time for men who pay for sex) and tries to set a moral tone using the only lever available to her, the law – but it’s a blunt tool for the purpose. Her mistaken response stems from two misconceptions. First, that the sexualisation of society can be regulated. And second, that the law alone can change people’s sexual behaviour. In both cases, the history of Soho suggests otherwise.