Petition to defer any bill on prostitution until after the next general election
The right of people in this country to decide by mutual agreement whether and under what conditions they consent to sexual intercourse is fundamental. In particular, it has never been illegal to pay for consensual sex since at least as far back as Magna Carta. The government are now proposing to criminalise men who pay for sex for the first time in this country’s history. That would constitute a radical change in the legal position for which the government has no electoral mandate, since the policy at the time of the 2005 general election was to legalise brothels operated by a small number of sex workers. We therefore call upon the government to obtain a mandate from the electorate before introducing any bill on prostitution.
If you’re wanting to fight this Jacqui Smith nonsense, there’s a good place to start.
If you’re a British citizen, do please sign this. I’ve written on this blog (A feminist perspective on Jacqui Smith’s proposals to change the prostitution laws and What do you make of this?) and my own about how much these new laws would endanger sex workers if they came into effect, so do have a read through if you’re not sure what’s happening and then do sign the petition.
I would also like to ask people to spread the link to this petition as widely as possible. If you’re a blogger and not a British citizen, I’m sure you’ll have British citizens reading, so do please reblog this.
Cheers.
Petition to defer any bill on prostitution until after the next general election « Better burn that dress, sister. said,
January 1, 2009 at 2:50 pm
[...] (Also posted at Shiraz Socialist) [...]
voltairespriest said,
January 1, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Caroline – I’vadded Better Burn that Dress, Sister! to the Shiraz Blogroll. Sorry, I meant to do it before!
Janine said,
January 2, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I won’t be signing the petition. It’s silly.
By postponing such a vote until after the General Election, the incoming government will not gain a mandate, as only a tiny tiny proportion of the electorate will cast their vote on the basis of what they think on this single issue. In fact, they shouldn’t cast their vote on the basis of what they think on this single issue.
I agree with you about Jacqui Smith’s proposals, but let’s fight them now on the basis of the political argument, not try to postpone that fight on the basis of a pseudo-democratic argument that doesn’t hold water.