MEDIA RELEASE
November 2, 2011
WA Politicians should not pass Prostitution Bill
The Australian Christian Lobby is urging West Australian politicians not to pass the Prostitution Bill 2011, which has been introduced in state parliament today.
ACL spokeswoman Michelle Pearse said that keeping prostitution out of the suburbs but allowing it to be legal in “tolerated zones” won’t stop the expansion of the illegal industry, as has been seen in other parts of Australia which legalised prostitution.
“The Queensland Government legalised brothel prostitution in 1999 and research from the University of Queensland estimates that 90 per cent of prostitution in Queensland is still illegal[i], even after the government set up the Prostitution Licensing Authority to regulate the industry,” Ms Pearse said.
“It will be impossible to confine prostitution to certain zones when there is an increasing number of men purchasing sex. As long as there is a legal industry, men will continue to assume the right to exploit women by purchasing them for sex,” Ms Pearse said.
The ACL said a government who legitimises prostitution through legalisation is legitimising the exploitation and abuse of women.
“A report by the US Bureau of Public Affairs cited a study into the trauma prostituted women face and revealed that 60-75 per cent of women in prostitution were raped, 70-95 per cent were physically assaulted and 68 per cent had post traumatic stress disorder in the same range as ‘treatment seeking combat veterans’[ii]. Why would the WA Government sanction an industry where this occurs?” Ms Pearse said.
Instead of legalising the industry, the ACL is calling on the government to shut down all brothels and implement a law similar to Sweden’s, which penalises the buyer rather than the women who are exploited in the industry.
This model is now being adopted by several European countries and South Korea.
“The key is to tackle the demand, to send a strong message to men that it is not ok to purchase a woman’s body for sex because it is exploitation,” Ms Pearse said.
“Penalties on the purchaser would be a deterrent and discourage men from using prostitutes. This would mean that fewer women would be exploited in the industry and fewer illegal brothels would exist in suburbs, which is not only better for community safety but is also better for the women who are exploited in prostitution,” she said.
“Community safety will only be achieved when the government recognises that prostitution is exploitation and seeks the safety of those in prostitution as well as the wider community,” she said.
The Prostitution Bill 2011 also ignores the fact that many legal brothels in eastern states were using trafficked women, as highlighted in recent media reports.
ENDS
I think your resources would be better spent addressing the poverty that forces women into prostitution rather than seeking to stop a law that would give them legal protection and redress.
Look at the cause of the problem not the symptom.
With all due respect, Rev Peter Lambert, I believe ACL are looking at the “cause of the problem” – the DEMAND for sex. If prostitution is legalised it is justified in our society. If the purchasers of sex were criminalised (as in the Swedish model), there has proven to be a corresponding decrease in prostitution and a corresponding decrease in human trafficking (which had been required to meet the DEMAND).
As you have highlighted, from an economic standpoint, the majority of women who enter prostitution are indeed socially disadvantaged and / or economically vulnerable. Single mothers, young people, students, indigenous women, immigrants, homeless are often caught in the trap of prostitution because they were left with ‘no other option’. I agree that poverty is a serious issue worth addressing in this debate, however dealing with that in itself is not going to send the much needed message our society needs to hear in relation to prostitution: exploitation of women and the purchasing of women for sex is NOT okay and should NOT be justified by law.
Prostitution may never be completely eradicated under any model. However, the one thing parliament can truly control is the message it sends to the community. If this proposal is successful it will send the message that women are not for sale in the suburbs, but if you are willing to drive down the road to the local commercial or industrial area then our WA girls are for sale.
What does that say about the value of women in our society?
Jesus said “poverty will always be among us”, these girls are daughters, sisters, nieces, cousins, friends, lost souls; it’s our job to minister to these girls and show them that they are better than slaves to sex, their bodies more than objects to be abused………….prositution should not be legalised, those who think it should be need to look at their sisters, daughters, cousins etc
Is there a petition that can be signed to support ACL’s standpoint on the matter?
Paul, you can visit
http://www.makeastand.org.au/campaign/index.php?campaign_id=38
and send an email to your local MP.
This website http://www.makeastand.org.au has made it SO easy to get in touch with your local politicians to let them know your stance.
Wow! I find it difficult to believe Rev Peter Lambert is a real reverend?? Possibly some very ignorant person wanting to make a point so pretending they’re a reverend on here?? Anyway thank you Jennifer for calmly responding to that with the facts. Thank you for info on how we can join the fight too.