Women's Views on News |
| Number of rapes at highest ever level Posted: 23 Oct 2014 04:44 AM PDT
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just recently published its latest crime figures, and while most crime is either static or falling, the numbers for sexual offences have risen dramatically. Compared with the previous year, sexual offences recorded by the police have risen 21 per cent in the year ending June 2014 to a total of 67,805 throughout England and Wales. And of those crimes, the number of rape offences have risen even higher, increasing by 29 per cent. Most of the other categories of victim-based crime had decreased. This could be cause for concern if crimes against women and girls are not seen to be punished harshly enough for the threat of such a punishment to act as a deterrent. A highly critical report was released in May this year by HM Inspectorate of the Constabulary (HMIC) on the recording of crime by police forces across the country, and this increase in cases of rape could well be partially due to improved compliance with national reporting standards. Public interest in and support of victims of crimes identified by the police's Operation Yewtree project has also probably led to a further increase, with survivors being more willing to come forward and report sexual offences. Previous data releases had shown that historical sexual offences were the largest contributor to the increase in reported sexual offences. However, with this particular release, the ONS said that current, rather than historic, offences account for the majority of the increase in sexual offences. The context of these increases in sexual offences is cause for concern, with women's and equalities groups expressing disappointment in the recent high profile sentencing of two male athletes for their crimes against women. Women's Aid highlighted the short custodial sentence paralympic athlete Oscor Pistorius received for killing his girlfriend, and Rape Crisis England and Wales calls for 'official statements condemning rape, sexual violence and violence against women and girls in the strongest terms' from football clubs after the woman raped by Ched Evans was subjected to online abuse. Unfortunately, even if the increase in reported cases of rape and other sexual offences is largely down to increased willingness by survivors to report attacks, far too many women still do not feel that there is the necessary support in place to do so. And there is still always more to do to make the world a safer, more secure place for women and girls.  |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2014 01:09 AM PDT
In 2006, five women involved in prostitution at the time were brutally murdered in Ipswich by a sex buyer. In response to these appalling crimes, Suffolk Constabulary joined with local agencies to end street prostitution in Ipswich. Suffolk Constabulary took a zero tolerance approach to kerb-crawling, diverted women involved in prostitution away from the criminal justice system and instead worked with local agencies to enable women to access support and exiting services. These three elements are the fundamental pillars of the Sex Buyer Law. An independent evaluation of the Ipswich/Suffolk Prostitution Strategy for 2007-2012 (EVISSTA 2) by the University of East Anglia concluded there has been, "clear and sustained success in terms of: Eliminating kerb-crawlers from the streets (Tackling Demand)". An economic analysis of the strategy also found that for every £1 spent as part of the Ipswich/Suffolk Prostitution Strategy, there were savings of £2 to the public purse. By shrinking the prostitution market Ipswich's strategy reduced the associated financial burden on the criminal justice system and social support system. However, the police have been prevented from tackling demand for off-street prostitution because the act of paying for sex is not illegal. The Sex Buyer Law is a highly effective legal framework for preventing commercial sexual exploitation. It has three key components: The buying of sex acts is criminalised The selling of sex acts is decriminalised Support and exiting services are provided for those exploited through prostitution The Sex Buyer Law was first introduced in Sweden in 1999 and has been shown to be highly effective in reducing demand for prostitution and making the country in question a more hostile destination for traffickers. The Sex Buyer Law recognises that the exploitation of people through prostitution and sex trafficking, most of whom are women and girls, ultimately only occurs because there is currently a demand from a minority of men wanting and willing to pay for sex. The Sex Buyer Law is designed to: Reduce demand for sexual exploitation – by making it a criminal offence to pay a person for sex. Support people exploited through the sex trade – by completely decriminalising the sale of sex acts and providing comprehensive support and exiting services. Transform attitudes – by challenging the belief that it is acceptable to treat women and girls as sexual objects by paying them for sex acts. Approximately 80,000 people are involved in prostitution in the UK, while the trafficking of women in to England and Wales to be brutally exploited in this trade is worth at least £130 million annually to their abusers. The majority of those who are paid for sex are women and girls, while the majority of those who buy sex are men. The overwhelming majority of those who end up in the prostitution trade are highly vulnerable and suffer acute harms as a result of their involvement. It is estimated that: 50 per cent of women in prostitution in the UK started being paid for sex acts before they were 18 years old; 95 per cent of women in street prostitution are problematic drug users; Over half of women involved in prostitution in the UK have been raped and/or sexually assaulted – the vast majority of these assaults committed by sex buyers; 68 per cent of women in prostitution experience post-traumatic stress disorder; and Once in prostitution, 9 out of 10 women report wanting to exit but feel unable to do so; The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime recognise prostitution as a form of violence against women. Commercial sexual exploitation is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality. And if there was no demand, there would be no 'supply'. As the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Home Affairs has said, "only by addressing demand for all forms of exploitation can we can begin [to] address trafficking in human beings… we cannot address the sexual exploitation of victims (the overwhelming majority being girls) without addressing the users." This approach provides formal recognition of prostitution as a barrier to gender equality and seeks to have a normative effect: changing public attitudes by challenging the belief that it is acceptable to treat women and girls as sexual objects by paying them for sex. Please help us bring about this change. Ask your MP to help end demand for sexual exploitation by backing the Sex Buyer Law.  |
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