Prostitution in Northern Ireland

Prostitution in Northern Ireland is governed by the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, which makes it illegal to pay for sex in Northern Ireland. Prior to the act coming into effect, prostitution in Northern Ireland was regulated by the same or similar laws to those in England and Wales, as it is elsewhere in the United Kingdom. At that time, prostitution in Northern Ireland was legal subject to a number of restraints which controlled certain activities associated with prostitution, such as soliciting, procuring, living on the proceeds of prostitution (pimping), exploitation of prostitutes, under-age prostitution, and keeping a brothel. However, devolution provided the opportunity for separate legislation in Northern Ireland.

As elsewhere, accurate figures for the extent of prostitution in Northern Ireland are difficult to ascertain, given the covert nature of the activities, although the police estimated 40-100 people were working in the sex trade in 2010. As in other countries, street prostitution has declined in favour of off-street prostitution. As with much of Europe, there appears to be a fair amount of mobility of prostitutes in and out of the territory, particularly in Belfast. While exact numbers are very hard to obtain, the 2014 research suggested between 300 and 350 people working on any particular day, the majority of whom were women, with the commonest age range being 25 - 30. The researchers found that under-age prostitutes were uncommon, and that most prostitutes did not start till they were of legal age.

Despite the publicity given to the issue, there has been a paucity of research on prostitution in Northern Ireland. The Department of Justice carried out its own research published in 2011, and in 2013, it commissioned a research study, which was carried out by the Queen's University Belfast, and released in October 2014 (Research into Prostitution in Northern Ireland). The findings were dismissed by supporters of the Human Trafficking Bill, in particular Women's Aid and the DUP.

The legal framework is governed by Part 5 (Ss. 58–64) of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1769 (N.I. 2)), as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (on 1 April 2010). These create offences for loitering or soliciting in a street or public place for the purposes of prostitution (S. 59), soliciting from a motor vehicle (kerb crawling) (S. 60), organising, advertising, or recruiting into prostitution for the purposes of gain (S. 62), controlling a prostitute (S. 63), or keeping a brothel (defined as more than one person selling sexual services in a given location) (S. 64).

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