Prostitution - 'We prefer it to operate in dark corners'

Published on Monday 13 December 2010 09:58

BY its very nature, the sex industry is a mystery to the majority of people - those who don't engage with it, never mind work in it or use its services.

Even the law as it applies to prostitution is murky. Kerb crawling was outlawed three years ago though selling sex is legal, but those doing so can fall foul of the law in numerous other ways.

In fact, the sex industry operates in the dark corners, almost out of the reach of the law, because that's the way we prefer it.

Attempts to bring more clarity, from legalisation to outright prohibition, via tolerance zones, have been bottled many times - and that says little for us as a society.

Because while today we focus on life at the "high end" of the oldest profession, in which glamorous call girls make hundreds of pounds a day operating out of hotel suites, for most prostitutes life is grim.

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Tomorrow the News will cast a spotlight on life on the streets, where often terrified women and men turn tricks for a few pounds, often to feed a drug habit.

Some people won't like the fact that our series is probing this murky world, here in the heart of Scotland's Capital city.

But until we are strong enough to look at the sex industry in all its forms - from the fun and thrills to the grime and violence - we cannot hope to make the right decisions about how we best protect all who engage with it.

More council cuts

further details are emerging about how the city council may make inroads into its budget black hole - and it isn't pretty.

Few will argue with more fines against litterbugs and owners who let dogs foul the streets, while hardly anyone will have known the Capital's "fine turf" squads, which face the axe, even existed.

But there will be anger at proposals to hike parking charges and a proposed eight per cent hike in burial fees.

Councillors have a tough job on their hands when it comes to deciding which cuts to adopt to try to get close to balancing the budget, especially with a council tax rise off the table thanks to a likely new deal with the SNP government.

If you want to protect a service get your voice heard by lobbying councillors - and, of course, through the pages of the News.

But cuts WILL have to be made somewhere, and the one certainty is that we'll all end up paying more, one way or another.