The Australian Christian Lobby today repeated its call on the South Australian Parliament to enact the Nordic Model of prostitution legislation.
The call comes in light of reports today of two women charged with illegal prostitution being unable to communicate in a Queensland Court because they only spoke Mandarin.
ACL’s state director Christopher Brohier said the details of this case raises a number of concerns, “The fact that these women cannot speak English or communicate in court is cause for alarm. How did these women come to be in Australia? Was there trafficking involved? Did they have a choice or were they coerced into prostitution?”
“This case shows that in a partially decriminalised prostitution environment, such as Queensland, industrialisation of prostitution will attract vulnerable women, and make them subject to exploitation,” said Mr Brohier.
“SA should lead Australia and prevent the industrialisation of prostitution by rejecting the Greens’ decriminalisation Bill. Enacting prostitution legislation similar to the Nordic Model, would criminalise the conduct of buyers and provide meaningful exit strategies for women,” said Mr Brohier.
The Australian Christian Lobby will continue to urge SA parliamentarians to vote against the Greens’ decriminalisation Bill and consider legislation that will protect vulnerable women.
