Prostitution in the United Kingdom

In Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), the act of engaging in sex as part of an exchange of various sexual services for money is legal,^[2] but a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering, are illegal. In Northern Ireland, which previously had similar laws, paying for sex became illegal from 1 June 2015.^[3]

Though laws regulating sex work exist, they are not always strictly enforced, with some reports in March 2016 of police forces turning a blind eye to brothels.^[4] Since then, however, there have been reports of crackdowns on brothels in the U.K.^[5]^[6] Many brothels in cities such as Manchester, London and Cardiff operate under the guise of "massage parlours".

Although the age of consent is 16 throughout the United Kingdom, it is illegal to buy sex from a person under 18 where the perpetrator does not reasonably believe they are 18 or over.^[7] In England and Wales, it is an offence to pay for sex with a sex worker who has been "subjected to force", constituting a strict liability offence - wherein the client of a sex worker can be prosecuted for the offence, even in the absence of fault or criminal intent to force a sex worker to provide sexual services for them.

^ Caroline Archer, Tart Cards: Londons Illicit Advertising Art (Mark Batty Publisher, 2003).
^ Casciani, Dominic (19 November 2008). "Q&A: UK Prostitution Laws". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
^ "Human Trafficking Bill receives Royal Assent". BBC News. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
^ Nazia Parveen (29 March 2016). "Manchester sex workers' rights case collapses after five years". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2016. Women had previously had the endorsement of police to keep the brothel and officers had turned a blind eye.
^ "Dozens of arrests in the UK as part of Europe-wide anti-slavery operation". National Crime Agency. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^ Phillips, Alexa (31 October 2020). "Hundreds arrested for 'running brothels' as sex workers say it's the laws that are criminal". Sky News. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^ Legislation

[1] Caroline Archer, Tart Cards: Londons Illicit Advertising Art (Mark Batty Publisher, 2003).

[2] Casciani, Dominic (19 November 2008). "Q&A: UK Prostitution Laws". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2010.

[:0-3] "Human Trafficking Bill receives Royal Assent". BBC News. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.

[Guardian29March2016-4] Nazia Parveen (29 March 2016). "Manchester sex workers' rights case collapses after five years". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2016. Women had previously had the endorsement of police to keep the brothel and officers had turned a blind eye.

[5] "Dozens of arrests in the UK as part of Europe-wide anti-slavery operation". National Crime Agency. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

[6] Phillips, Alexa (31 October 2020). "Hundreds arrested for 'running brothels' as sex workers say it's the laws that are criminal". Sky News. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

[7] Legislation

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]