Banning brothels in residential areas would be a welcome first step to curbing prostitution but laws need to go further by making it illegal to pay for sex, Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey says. A vocal opponent of the former Carpenter Government's now redundant plan to decriminalise the sex industry, Archbishop Hickey hopes the Barnett Government's overhaul of prostitution legislation will provide a substantial deterrent to male customers, according to The West Australian.
He supports the so called Swedish model, which makes buying sex and brothel ownership illegal, rather than prostitution itself.
Archbishop Hickey said men had to be held responsible for what was effectively a form of abuse against women.
"(Under the Swedish system), at least men will get a different message than the one they are getting at the moment, which is almost encouragement," he said.
However, prostitution by private operators would have to be stemmed in other ways.
Also, there was an urgent need to boost funding for rehabilitation services for women who had escaped prostitution, Archbishop Hickey said.
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(Source: CTHN)