Introduction

In an ideal world the need for individuals to sell or buy sexual services in order to survive would not exist; every citizen of the world would be able to achieve both economic security and sexual fulfilment without recourse to selling or buying sex. The root causes of many – but not all – individuals’ entry into the sex industry, such as debt and poverty, gender inequality and gender politics, lack of economic opportunity, low educational attainment, childhood neglect and abuse, and drug dependency would have been eradicated. However, we are a long way away from such a society, and policy should be rooted in the real world, ensuring that no one pays the price for ideological aspirations that cannot be met in the immediate future. Sex workers should not be seen as expendable for political goals.

In 1992, Edinburgh launched its zero tolerance campaign towards violence against women, in which the city committed itself to proactively addressing the issue of violence against women. It should be proud that it was the first city in the United Kingdom to introduce a crime prevention campaign relating to gender-based violence. But some time prior to this Edinburgh had adopted equally progressive approaches to other social issues. In the 1980s, Edinburgh responded strategically to the increased recognition of violence against sex workers and the emerging HIV epidemic. The city developed, through partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council, Lothian and Borders Police, Lothian Health Board and community-based organisations, what became known in the media as a ‘tolerance zone’ for street prostitution and a pragmatic, complaint-led approach to indoor prostitution. This was in operation for almost 20 years. It was introduced following the brutal murder of two women and escalating crime associated with street prostitution, and was reinforced with the emergence of the HIV epidemic among injecting drug users in Edinburgh and the need to provide accessible harm-reduction services. Within the designated area, women were not charged for soliciting or loitering for the purposes of prostitution – but other illegal activities were never ignored. The strategy developed over time – in the early 1990s Lothian and Borders Police appointed the first police liaison officer for sex workers, who took on a welfare rather than an enforcement role, and instead of the police imposing rules for the designated area, ground rules were reviewed, negotiated and agreed between the police and the women.