Calls for crackdown on online 'megabrothels' and sex trafficking
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi has argued that buying a cappuccino is not the same as "ordering a woman online" for sex, as she called for a crackdown on "online megabrothels".
She urged lawmakers to "confront the adult sexual exploitation being perpetrated on an industrial scale by pimping websites and men who pay for sex, both of whom currently enjoy near-total legal impunity".
Antoniazzi proposed a new clause two to the Government's Crime and Policing Bill, which would prohibit a third party from assisting someone in engaging in sexual activity with another person in exchange for payment. She also advocated for a ban on individuals paying for sex, either for themselves or others, through a proposed new clause three.
A new clause four would repeal parts of the 66-year-old Street Offences Act, so that "loitering or soliciting for the purposes of prostitution" would no longer be considered a crime. "Pimping websites which function as massive online brothels operate openly and freely, supercharging the sex trafficking trade by making it easier and quicker for exploiters to advertise their victims," Ms Antoniazzi informed the Commons.
The Gower MP continued: "These online megabrothels make millions of pounds every year by advertising thousands of vulnerable women across the world for prostitution in the UK, and sadly, our legislation allows this.
'Let's pass laws to put pimps and traffickers out of business'
"The notion that paying someone for sex acts is a normal consumer activity, akin to ordering a coffee, is a damaging and misguided myth. Prostitution is a form of violence against women. Let's pass laws to put pimps and traffickers out of business."
Ms Antoniazzi debunked another "myth", that a ban would drive "pimping" onto the dark web, telling MPs that accessing such platforms would "require significant technical expertise to post as well as locate and access prostitution adverts".
Regarding her bid to decriminalise soliciting, the backbencher warned that the existing offence was "counter-productive and a barrier to seeking help and exiting this ruthless trade". She said: "For most of these women, their record of convictions is a record of their exploitation and abuse, and they live in fear of having to disclose this history when applying for jobs or volunteering."
Ms Antoniazzi has already amended the Bill after she pressed new clause one to a vote on Tuesday. MPs backed her proposal by 379 votes to 137, majority 242, to decriminalise abortion for women acting in relation to their own pregnancies.
Commons Home Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Karen Bradley said she backed a plan to ban images and videos depicting non-fatal strangulation, by expanding the definition of "extreme pornographic images" which are illegal to possess.
The former culture secretary and Conservative MP, Dame Karen, weighed in on the proposed new clause 121, stating: "This is not impacting on what people may wish to do in their private lives, but it does mean that those images would not then be available to be seen in pornographic films."
She further highlighted the importance of protecting children, saying, "And it means that there's protection for children who may be looking at this pornography. We don't want them to look at it, but we're realists, we recognise this happens, and it would mean that this doesn't normalise something which is a really dangerous act and really should not be being promoted in any way."
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and the one who proposed the ban on certain images, expressed her concerns, saying: "We need to send a signal that strangling your partner in bed is not safe. It can be a precursor to coercive, abusive behaviour."
'UK is a large porn consumer - one in 10 children have seen it by the age of nine'
She added context to the issue by mentioning the UK's consumption of adult content: "The UK, as we know, is a large porn consumer. In any given month, over 10 million adults in the UK will access online porn, and the vast majority of them will be chaps."
Dame Caroline continued without judgement but with concern: "That's up to them. We don't judge. But we also know from research that online porn is so widespread that one in 10 children have seen it by the age of nine."
Highlighting the potential influence of such content, she said, "Unfortunately, it is the guide that many young people use to learn about sex, and that is why I'm extremely worried that non-fatal strangulation has been found to be rife on porn sites.
"Evidence has shown that it's directly influencing the sexual behaviour of young men, who are non-consensually strangling young women during consensual sex. Recent polling has suggested that 17% of 16 to 34-year-olds have been strangled without giving consent during consensual sex. We aren't being prudes in calling for this misogynistic act to be banned in online porn."
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