A nun working with women who have been trafficked illegally into Britain and forced to work as prostitutes has said that legalising prostitution will not protect women.Sr Margaret Gallagher made her comments following the results of an Ipsos-Mori poll, conducted for the government, into the issue of prostitution.
Sr Margaret is a trustee of the Medaille Trust, set up by the Catholic religious congregations of England and Wales to establish safe houses for sex workers who have been the victims of human trafficking into the UK.
She told The Universe: “People have used the argument that if you pay for sex and make prostitution legal, it will keep the women safe and reduce trafficking.
The opposite is true. The facts show that where prostitution has been made legal, trafficking and prostitution have actually increased.”
Police have said that up to 18,000 females, including girls as young as 14, are working in brothels across Britain after being smuggled into the country to meet the booming demand for prostitutes.
Sr Margaret continued: “As a trust we would not support the legalising of prostitution. To make prostitution legal is actually a smokescreen for protecting women. It protects the purchaser, not the woman.”
Harriet Harman, Labour’s deputy leader and minister for women and equality, has stepped up her drive to make buying sex illegal.
She has also highlighted cultural double standards after some respondents to the government poll, particularly older men, condoned buying sex but condemned those who sell it.
The poll showed that there were divergent attitudes between women and men.
A clear majority of women found both paying for sex and selling it unacceptable (61 per cent and 65 per cent respectively), but men were much more equivocal, with just 42 per cent and 40 per cent respectively finding it unacceptable.
More than half of those questioned (60 per cent) from both genders would feel ashamed if they found out a family member was working as a prostitute. But men were more likely to find it unacceptable for a female relative to sell sex, while being relaxed about a male relative paying for it.
Young people were more likely than older people to find paying for sex and selling sex unacceptable (64 per cent and 69 per cent respectively).
Ms Harman said: “We know that paying for sex fuels the demand for trafficked women and children, but we can’t talk about tackling demand without challenging cultural attitudes more widely.”
She has been allowed to express her personal view that buying sex should be made illegal before the government review has been completed.
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