Legalised Brothels in England?

It almost seems ironic that my next blog should be about legalising brothels in England, especially after my blog on Max Mosley.

But, after watching "A W.I. Lady's Guide to Brothels" on Channel 4, I'm amazed at how I now feel about these 'knocking shops.'

Granted, the purpose of the programme is to gain support and raise awareness about brothels, but I think Jean and Shirley from the Hampshire Women's Institute have done a fantastic job at portraying both the positive and negative aspects of working as a prostitute.

In a documentary that followed these WI ladies around the world; visiting various brothels in Holland, the USA and New Zealand, its clear to see that their main aim is to keep working girls safe.

To keep these girls off the streets, the WI are proposing to legalise brothels in our country to try and give them better working conditions as working girls.

Whilst prostitution is legal in the UK, brothels are not. These girls do not have working contracts, and many are vulnerable to physical abuse and danger.

Whilst I understand the ladies hav to start somewhere, I do think the 'Mobile Brothel' in a white camper-van, which was eventually driven to 10 Downing Street, may have been a bit far-fetched!

Safety for working girls is one thing. Shoving them all in a caravan is another.

I do think that de-criminalising brothels in the UK however would be a bold move for our government, and one that could quite possibly increase the safety of something that happens in our country; whether we like it or not.

Even if prostitution is not something we are personally involved with, it has been estimated that nearly 80,000 people in the UK are*.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed. I guess we'll have to wait until June 2009 to find out how the Hampshire WI get on.


* http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/watupman/undergrad/aac/scale.htm