Currently in the UK, prostitution is not illegal however the laws serve to make providing sex in exchange for money difficult and dangerous. Soliciting (advertising sexual services), streetwalking and brothels (where more than one woman sells sex in an apartment) are illegal. Kerb crawling is illegal in most of the UK but different laws apply in Scotland. In all of the UK, paying for sex with a woman is not illegal. These laws firmly place the criminality of prostitution on the women.

The only legislation required therefore is the legalization of brothels; a word of caution however is necessary.

If the process is legalised the situation for the trafficked victim remains largely the same. It does not help to alleviate her suffering, as there is no law against men visiting prostitutes. There is also no reason to raid the brothel, such that a woman may be trapped in a violent and abusive situation for many years with no means of escape.

The Law in Sweden - introduced in 1999
The Swedish law introduced the notion that prostitutes were victims of male violence, making the purchaser of sex the criminal and the seller of sex the victim. The reasons why these laws work are simple – they criminalise the men that visit prostitutes.

If anyone would like to see serious debate on this subject in the UK consider this on-line petition
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/prostitutionreform/