NHS Open Road defines men involved in prostitution as males who engage in sexual activity in exchange for some form of payment such as: money, drinks, drugs, consumer goods or a bed or roof over their head for a night. This may take place in a variety of settings including private accommodation, brothels or on the street.
The project recognises that a significant number of men involved in prostitution do so as a means of survival behaviour rather than sexual behaviour and we validate the right of men involved in prostitution to be free from exploitation and abuse, and to be included in shaping the services which aim to support them.
Our understanding of prostitution as a potentially harmful means of survival informs our approach to working with individuals. Therefore, while it is not a condition of the project that men must exit prostitution, it is part of our duty of care to raise exiting as a valid option.
Prostitution in itself is not illegal. However, many of the activities surrounding prostitution are illegal. As such, it is illegal to solicit or importune for sexual acts, to cause offence to the public by offering or performing sexual acts, or to be involved in a brothel – itself defined as accommodation from which more than one person at a time is involved in prostitution.
The Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Bill is an article of legislation which focuses on individuals seeking to purchase sexual acts and includes, for example, provisions to take possession of vehicles which are being used for the purposes of “kerb-crawling” in an effort to procure sexual acts.
Existing legislation under the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 (Section 46) remains in place which legislates for offences caused to the public and would include offences caused by the offering of sexual acts, and is therefore directly relevant to individuals involved in prostitution.
The Civic Government Act (Section 46) can lead to fines being levelled at the individual involved in prostitution. This in itself is often cited by individuals involved in prostitution as a reason for their continued involvement; with limited recourse to alternative sources of money, the individual may continue their involvement in order to avoid a jail tariff for non-payment of fines.
It is intended that the Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Bill will alter this scenario by challenging the demand which perpetuates the individuals involvement in prostitution and places a greater legal onus on the person purchasing sexual acts.
NHS Open Road recognises the vulnerability and exploitation experienced by a significant proportion of the male population involved in prostitution, and the power imbalance implicit in being financially commodified. As such, we choose to use the term “men involved in prostitution” and reject the term “sex worker”, as this latter phrase implies a notion of freely entered work practice which is incongruent with the experiences of many of the men involved. However, we never refer to the person involved as a “prostitute”.
In respect of our direct work, we will always display:
We recognise that asking individuals about possible involvement in prostitution requires sensitivity. To achieve as full an assessment as possible it’s necessary to couch questions regarding prostitution in a context that is likely to open up discussion and which indicates that their response is purposeful and will be positively acted upon.
Helpful ways of phrasing this include:
Involvement in prostitution may be an underlying or contributing factor to the person’s addiction, their mental health status, their risk of homelessness, their risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, or their contact with criminal justice services.