Refer to prostitutes as ‘sexual entrepreneurs', police chiefs insist
Concerns have been raised by MPs over what they claim to be the 'normalisation' and 'decriminalisation' of prostitution as a career
Police chiefs urging officers to refer to sex workers as 'sexual entrepreneurs' risks 'normalising' prostitution, MPs have claimed.
Listen to this article
Concerns have been raised over guidance issued by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) suggesting officers limit the use of the word “prostitute” or “prostitution” to “specific legal meanings and offences”.
The guidance suggests using vocabulary such as “sexual entrepreneurs”, referring to those who “have chosen to engage in commercial sex as a career choice and for whom sex work is not necessarily a temporary arrangement that they seek to exit”.
It comes amid warnings over the commercialisation of sexual exploitation, with MPs voicing concern on the subject - namely due to a plummeting rate of convictions.
According to an all-party parliamentary group (APPG), MPs highlight that the vocabulary could see prostitution become commonplace amid rising concerns that the terminology could 'normalise' and 'decriminalise' the practice.
Read more: Drug kingpin Olympic snowboarder slapped with $15m FBI bounty after 'killing key government witness'
In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, MPs highlighted a notable slump in convictions relating to all categories of prostitution offences over the course of the past decade.
It comes amid suggestions that sex trafficking is now being conducted on an “industrial scale”.
“Pimping websites” are more accessible than ever, with the committee, chaired by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, highlighting that one particular site was seen to promote 15,800 adverts for prostitution.
Criticising the guidance handed down by police chiefs, the APPG said the term “sex work” was not contained in any UK legislation.
“It is an ideological, political and deeply contested term, and its recommended use by the NPCC is highly inappropriate,” said the APPG.
“Relatedly, it is wholly inappropriate that the term ‘sex work’ is in the very role title of the police officer leading the NPCC’s work on this issue.”