Commercial Sexual Exploitation

In an Adjournment debate in the House of Commons, Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour MP for Gower, raised the issue of commercial sexual exploitation. She argued that the global trade in sexual exploitation, primarily against women and girls, has grown significantly in recent years, with sex trafficking being the most profitable form of modern slavery and the consumption of violent, misogynistic pornography reaching unprecedented levels. Antoniazzi emphasized that prostitution is a form of violence against women, as it involves the commodification of sexual consent. She shared the harrowing experiences of survivors, such as Crystal, who endured physical and psychological trauma from being exploited in the sex trade. Antoniazzi also read the disturbing words of a sex buyer, highlighting the harmful attitudes and actions of those who fuel the demand for commercial sexual exploitation. The MP urged the government to recognize prostitution as a form of violence against women and girls by adding it to the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, as the Scottish Government has done. She also called for the criminalization of paying for sex, as several other countries have implemented, to shift the burden of criminality from the victims to the perpetrators. Antoniazzi criticized the current legal framework in England and Wales, which she described as a "legal fudge," allowing organized crime groups to exploit vulnerable women, often non-British nationals, through online brothels and trafficking networks. She emphasized the need to crack down on pimping websites that enable and profit from this trade, as well as to provide support and resources for survivors to exit sexual exploitation. In response, Jess Phillips, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, acknowledged the gravity of the issue and the government's commitment to using every available lever to stop commercial sexual exploitation. She recognized that sexual exploitation disproportionately affects women and girls and stated that the government will announce new policies in due course. Phillips expressed her personal passion for addressing this issue and her intention to work closely with charities and non-governmental organizations to support services and hold perpetrators accountable. She also highlighted the government's current funding for initiatives aimed at understanding the scale of online abuse and exploitation and providing trauma-informed support for women wishing to exit prostitution. The minister acknowledged the different legislative approaches to prostitution in various countries and stated that further work is needed to explore the options available to the government, with the protection of women and girls from exploitation as the top priority. She also emphasized the government's determination to tackle the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and to use the Online Safety Act 2023 to ensure that online companies fulfill their duty to eradicate this exploitation from their platforms.