Kerb-crawlers can be arrested on their first offence under new laws designed to tackle the demand for prostitution, Home Office minister Alan Campbell said today.
And a poster campaign launched to coincide with International Women’s Day will warn potential “punters” of new criminal fines of up to £1,000 for having sex with a woman forced into prostitution against her will.
Changes to the law coming into effect on April 1 will remove a requirement for police to establish that a man is “persistently” kerb-crawling before arresting him.
Mr Campbell said the reforms are intended to hit hardest the men who pay for sex, while helping often vulnerable women to leave prostitution.
“We are determined to tackle the demand for prostitution and provide help for those who wish to leave prostitution,” he said.
“These new measures build on the significant action we have already taken to tackle prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation. They will help bring greater protection to vulnerable people involved in prostitution.
“Alongside this we are also continuing our funding to tackle the appalling crime of domestic violence with £4.3 million to support help for victims.”
From April 1, a man paying for sex with a prostitute who is being exploited through force, deception or threats will be breaking the law, whether or not he knows that she is selling her body against her will.
The World Cup means world class opportunities for working girls. Read more at The Star…
World Cup to draw 40 000 hookers to SA
by Kenichi Serino
As many as 40 000 women are expected to arrive in South Africa ahead of the World Cup to work as prostitutes, according to the Central Drug Authority (CDA).
“Forty-thousand new prostitutes. As if we do not have enough people of our own, we have to import them to ensure that our visitors are entertained,” CDA deputy chairman David Bayever said in Pretoria yesterday at the release of the International Narcotics Control Board’s annual report.
He said the agency had been warned by the eThekwini metropolitan municipality of the possibility of huge inflows. “They got wind of it.”
Many of the women were likely to be recruited from eastern Europe.
Bayever also warned that the extension of school holidays during the soccer tournament would put children at risk of being lured into sex work.
“Our youth are going to be on holiday. They are going to be targeted to become prostitutes.”
Winter Olympics’ boost for Vancouver sex trade as business triples at brothel
By Megan Taylor
Vancouver’s estimated 1,000 sex workers agree: The Olympic Games are good for business.
Business at a brothel near downtown Vancouver tripled during the Winter Olympics, AOL News reports. But instead of the expected foreign visitors, Sexy Nina, who owns the house of ill repute, found local clients excited by the competitive spirit.
“The Games gave us the desire and willingness to connect, the energy to move,” she told AOL News. “What an amazing two weeks!”
Despite fears that out-of-town sex workers could make work riskier, some street workers reported that business was slow, said Kerry Porth, the executive director of Prostitution Alternatives Counseling & Education Society (PACE), which offered nightly outreach sessions during the Games.
Porth said the increased police presence may be to blame for some of the slowdown in street business.
“There were police on foot and in cars, all over the usual sex worker neighborhoods,” she said.
Although sex work is legal in Vancouver, some associated activities are not, such as running a brothel. But the Vancouver Police Department usually leaves sex workers alone.
It’s not the punchline to a joke. It’s true! Read the whole story at The Telegraph…
Swiss prostitutes trained to use defibrillators in brothels to prevent clients dying
Brothel owners in the Lugano area say electric shock treatment to restart customer’s hearts is needed because so many elderly customers are using their services.
The most recent victim was a pensioner, thought to be having fun with the help of anti-impotence medication.
His death followed a series of other incidents, some fatal, in which heart attacks have claimed brothel customers in the area.
The owner of one sex club said: “Having customers die on us isn’t exactly good publicity”.
There are now 38 sex clubs and brothel in the Lugano area. And more are planned, according to Italian daily, Corriere della Sera, in order to accommodate the thousands of customers who pour over the border from Italy, where brothels are illegal. Around 80 per cent of the men who pay for sex in the area are thought to be Italian.
Burbank Hookers, Beware “The Burbank Police Department will not allow prostitutes and their customers to believe that they can use Burbank as their meeting place.” By OLSEN EBRIGHT
Police in Burbank have issued a warning to pimps, prostitutes and anyone else benefiting from prostitution-related crimes.
“The Burbank Police Department will not allow prostitutes and their customers to believe that they can use Burbank as their meeting place,” Lt. Armen Dermenjian told the Burbank Leader.
The warning coincides with a beefed-up effort from cops to curb sex trade.
On Feb 23, police arrested three women at the Ramada Burbank Airport Hotel, said Burbank Police Sgt. Robert Quesada. On Feb. 16, a 19-year-old Poway woman and 26-year-old San Diego man were arrested on prostitution-related charges, according to police records.
Other recent incidents include the arrest of two Oakland men at the Extended StayAmerica Los Angeles-Burbank Airport on suspicion of pimping a minor under the age of 16, Quesada told the newspaper.
“We want these people to know that if they’re going to engage in this kind of conduct that the police and citizens won’t put up with it, and we’ll be out there targeting it,” Quesada said. “We don’t want to let them get comfortable.”
Selling Sex to Pay the Bills SWFL Women turn to prostitution
By WINK News
It’s the world’s oldest profession, and the bad economy might be breathing new life into the seedy world of prostitution.
“I’m doing the same thing everybody else is doing, I’m sacrificing my time for money,” said “Britney”, an articulate mother of two and prostitute.
For obvious reasons she did not want to be identified by her real name or show her face on camera but she was willing to detail why she chose her profession.
“I saw that the money was real good, and i could make ends meet that way.”
“Britney” says the bad economy forced her to turn to prostitution, but police say that is an excuse.
“A lot of them don’t want to take responsibility for the decision they made, they were forced into because of the economy, forced into because of bad circumstances,” said Troy Bettencourt with the Punta Gorda Police Department.
Punta Gorda police have turned to several sites on the internet to crack down on prostitution in their area, but they can only regulate what’s within their jurisdiction.
A popular escort site has more postings for areas in Lee and Collier county than any other metropolitan area in Florida, with over 1,000 prostitutes listed.
It’s called ‘evidence,’ and while the police normally don’t go after clients, this is a risk that clients should know exists. Read the whole story at LoHud.com…
Chappaqua resident, 46, charged with prostitution, kept client book
by Marcela Rojas
A longtime Chappaqua resident, who was arrested by an undercover detective for allegedly offering “sensual massage” to “generous gentleman” on Craigslist, stated she charged $200 an hour for sex and kept a book of her male clients, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
The D.A.s Office submitted paperwork to New Castle Town Court saying that the woman made a statement on Feb. 19 to a criminal investigator, admitting she began posting ads on Craigslist that “were sexual in nature” after advertising on the site for about a year. The 46-year-old woman posted a photo of herself and requested photos of the men she meets whom she charged $200 an hour for various sex acts as well as “top rate” massages, according to the statement.
The woman, a registered nurse, stated she worked for herself and kept a book of her clients’ first names and telephone numbers near her computer and that she “met men at her house and at hotels occasionally.”
And the South Park Madame Story closes its final chapter. Read more at WBTV.com…
“South Park Madame” released from jail
By Cameron Easley
Sallie Saxon, the “South Park Madame,” was released Tuesday from prison after completing her two-year federal prison sentence.
The 60-year-old woman and her husband, Donald, were sentenced back in 2008 for running a high-end prostitution ring out of hotels in SouthPark and uptown Charlotte.
Saxon’s enterprise was known as “Hush Hush” and claimed to offer non-sexual companionship on its website for fees in excess of $700.
According to prosecutors, Saxon made as much as $3 million.
Clients would pay up to a thousand dollars or more for the escorts.
A woman in an affluent New York City suburb has been accused of targeting “upscale men” for prostitution.
New Castle police, who cover Chappaqua, say a 46-year-old woman focused on “upscale men” in ads on Craigslist. Court papers say she offered “sensuous massage” to “generous gentlemen.”
The documents say she was arrested at her home Feb. 19 after she accepted $200 for sex with an undercover officer.
It’s dangerous out there, guys. Read more at The Scotsman…
Man’s killers ‘used prostitution lure’
By Victoria Allen
A BUSINESSMAN was murdered after he visited a known red-light district and left there with a female companion, a court heard yesterday.
Alan Bennett, 56, was on a night out with work colleagues before he headed to the streets of Aberdeen’s harbour, an area that is frequented by prostitutes.
Almost three hours later, a reveller in a different part of the city centre found Mr Bennett’s body. He had been stabbed to death.
Paul Balgowan and Julie Carroll, both 25, are accused of luring him to his death by promising him sex.
On the first day of their trial at the High Court in Aberdeen the jury was shown CCTV footage of Mr Bennett at Regent Quay on the night he died.
Detective Constable Andrew Barclay of Grampian Police told the court: “Regent Quay is known as a red-light district. Further along is a former Grampian Police tolerance zone for prostitution, and prostitutes meet in that area.”
The footage showed Mr Bennett heading to the harbour at at about 1:35am on 30 May last year and leaving with a woman thought to be Carroll.
Following just 30 seconds behind them were two figures, one of which was said to be Carroll’s partner, Balgowan. It is not clear if Mr Bennett knew he was being followed, but DC Barclay said Carroll kept looking back over her shoulder.
The pair are accused of persuading the victim to go with Carroll, then pulling a knife on him.
It is claimed he was forced to hand over his wallet and then repeatedly punched and stabbed in the head and body.
Kerb-crawlers can be arrested on their first offence under new laws designed to tackle the demand for prostitution, Home Office minister Alan Campbell said today.
As many as 40 000 women are expected to arrive in South Africa ahead of the World Cup to work as prostitutes, according to the Central Drug Authority (CDA).
A longtime Chappaqua resident, who was arrested by an undercover detective for allegedly offering “sensual massage” to “generous gentleman” on Craigslist, stated she charged $200 an hour for sex and kept a book of her male clients, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
