Discourses surrounding prostitution policies in the UK

This article examines the public discourses invoked in United Kingdom debates about prostitution and the trafficking of women. We take two particular debates as our focus: the kerb-crawling debates from the late 1970s to the present and the more recent trafficking debate. We suggest that there are three striking features about the UK discourses on prostitution: i) the absence of the sex work discourse, ii) the dominance of the public nuisance discourse in relation to kerb-crawling, and iii) the dominance of a traditional moral discourse in relation to trafficking. At a time when the UK is about to revise its sex laws, it is important to consider the discourses that frame prostitution policies in other European countries, with a view to broadening the range of policy options. In this context, we compare the UK with the Netherlands. The sex work discourse, adopted only by certain marginal UK feminist groups, has framed debates in the Netherlands. This comparison is important, in that it indicates that UK prostitution discourses could be shaped by discourses other than those of public nuisance and moral order. A willingness to engage other discourses, such as the sex work discourse, may open up new productive policy options.