Extent
The total number of prostitutes is not known and is difficult to assess, but authorities and NGOs estimate that approximately 100,000 persons in the country are engaged in prostitution. The personal circumstances of prostitutes are not clear and are, as elsewhere, the subject of political controversy.
The sex trade takes different forms, such as prostitution practiced in massage parlors, saunas, private flats, street prostitution and escort prostitution. The enforcement of the anti-prostitution laws is very lax.
In the late 2000s, a study compiled by the Poppy Project found brothels in all 33 London local authority areas. Westminster had the highest number with 71, compared with 8 in Southwark. For this study the researchers had posed as potential customers and had telephoned 921 brothels that had advertised in local newspapers. The researchers estimated that the brothels generated between £50m and £130m a year. Many brothels operated through legitimate businesses - licensed as saunas or massage parlours - though the vast majority were in private flats in residential areas. The report found 77 different ethnicities among the prostitutes, many from areas such as Eastern Europe and South-East Asia. The study has been called "the most comprehensive study ever conducted into UK brothels" but its methodology has been criticized, and it has been rejected by sex workers' activists and academic studies.
According to a 2009 study by TAMPEP, of all prostitutes in the UK, 41% were foreigners - however in London this percentage was 80%. The total number of migrant prostitutes was significantly lower than in other Western countries (such as Spain and Italy where the percentage of all migrant prostitutes was 90%). The migrant prostitutes came from: Central Europe 43%, Baltic 10%, Eastern Europe 7%, Balkan 4%, other EU countries 16%, Latin America 10%, Asia, 7%, Africa 2%, North America 1%. 35 different countries of origin were identified.
Surveys indicate that less UK men use prostitutes than in other countries. Estimates of between 7% and 8.8% of men have used prostitutes at least once in the UK, compared to 15%-20% in the USA or 16% in France. The authors stress the difficulty of finding reliable data given the lack of prior research, differences in sample sizes, and possible underestimates due to the privacy concerns of survey respondents.
Read more about this topic: Prostitution In The United Kingdom
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