Rights Monitor
Rape warning for men paying for sex
Avril Ormsby
Posters will appear in clubs and pubs from Monday warning men against paying for sex in brothels with exploited or trafficked women. The posters, which will be piloted in men's toilets in Westminster and Nottingham, will say "Walk in a Punter. Walk out a Rapist".
They are part of a six-month home office review into tackling the demand for prostitution, which began in January, and aim to point out that trafficked women are forced into selling sex, and that forced sex is rape. "So if you pay for sex with a trafficked woman what does that make you?" the posters ask. "Trafficking is a vile and evil trade and sex buyers must be made to think twice about the consequences of their actions," home office minister Vernon Coaker said in statement.
"These women are being treated as commodities and are sold, controlled and exploited by others for a profit. This is totally unacceptable."
The posters will be supported by online advertising and additional advice on the UK Human Trafficking Centre's Web site.
The majority of men who pay for sex are aged between 20 and 40, peaking at 34 years, according to a 2007 report by the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit. Most are employed, about half are in a relationship and more than a fifth have children, it said.
Source: Reuters.
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