Inquiry Into the Regulation of Brothels
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Submission No 115 INQUIRY INTO THE REGULATION OF BROTHELS Organisation: Australian Christian Lobby Name: Mr Mark Makowiecki Position: NSW Director Date Received: 20/08/2015 New South Wales Office PO Box H331 Australia Square SYDNEY NSW 1215 T 02 8005 3834 E [email protected] W acl.org.au ABN 40 075 120 517 19 August, 2015 Select Committee on the Regulation of Brothels Parliament House Macquarie St Sydney NSW 2000 To the Committee Manager, On behalf of the Australian Christian Lobby I am pleased to present our submission to the Select Committee on the Regulation of Brothels in response to the Inquiry into the Regulation of Brothels. Yours sincerely, Mark Makowiecki NSW Director Australian Christian Lobby 1 1 Submission to the Select Committee on the Regulation of Brothels Inquiry into Brothels in NSW August 2015 ACL New South Wales Office PO Box H331 Australia Square SYDNEY NSW 1215 Telephone: (02) 8005 3834 Email: [email protected] Website: www.acl.org.au ABN 40 075 120 517 2 Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 3 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Demand drives prostitution .................................................................................................................... 6 The German study ............................................................................................................................... 6 The Nordic approach to prostitution ...................................................................................................... 6 The Nordic approach in other European countries ............................................................................ 8 Canada ................................................................................................................................................ 8 South Korea ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Other Countries ................................................................................................................................. 9 The failure of legalising prostitution ................................................................................................... 9 Queensland ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Australian Capital Territory ............................................................................................................... 11 Victoria .............................................................................................................................................. 11 New Zealand ..................................................................................................................................... 11 The reality of prostitution .................................................................................................................. 12 Child abuse background of workers ................................................................................................. 12 Underage prostitution ......................................................................................................................... 13 Health and Safety Concerns .................................................................................................................. 14 Sexually Transmitted Infections ........................................................................................................ 15 Violence ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Psychological harm ........................................................................................................................... 16 Drug use ............................................................................................................................................ 17 Tobacco consumption ....................................................................................................................... 17 Health and safety summary .............................................................................................................. 17 Inherent inequality in prostitution ....................................................................................................... 18 Education .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Exit programs ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Organised Crime ................................................................................................................................... 18 Sex trafficking ........................................................................................................................................ 19 The connection between legal prostitution and human trafficking ................................................. 21 Ongoing reporting in the media shows that Sydney councils need more support to tackle this issue 22 The reality of prostitution – summary .................................................................................................. 25 Options for reform ................................................................................................................................ 25 Local Government ............................................................................................................................. 25 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 27 3 Executive Summary The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) welcomes this opportunity to make a submission to the Select Committee on the Regulation of Brothels’ Inquiry into Brothels in NSW. ACL has long advocated for reform on prostitution law throughout Australia. Since March 2011, ACL has made submissions to the ACT,1 WA,2 NSW and Tasmanian3 Governments supporting the Swedish or Nordic approach to prostitution legislation. In August 2012, ACL made a submission to the NSW Community Relations Commission’s Inquiry into the Exploitation of Women through Trafficking.4 Legal prostitution is closely linked to human trafficking and ACL believes this should be acknowledged in the discussion of brothel regulation. In October 2012, ACL made a submission the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, Better Regulation Office’s Issues Paper on the Better Regulation of Brothels in NSW.5 That submission argued for the “Nordic Approach” to prostitution be adopted in NSW and rejected both ideas of licencing and registration. This submission, like the one in 2012, advocates for the “Nordic Approach” to be adopted by NSW. An examination of the evidence shows that the “Nordic Approach” to prostitution is successful. The experience of other jurisdictions shows that legalisation of prostitution does not work. Some of the significant problems associated with prostitution, including health risks and sex trafficking, will be examined. Should prostitution remain decriminalised, ACL believes that neither registration nor licensing of brothels would be an effective solution to solve issues around community concerns. Local governments already have some measures for rejecting brothels in their communities. However it does appear that local government’s efforts to regulate brothels are frustrated by planning law that places too high a requirement on council reject and shut down brothels. The options available to local councils should be strengthened to allow councils the ability to better regulate the establishment of brothels in their communities. Doing so would have the benefit of reducing the costs of regulation on local government. ACL’s recommendations are listed on page 4. 1 Australian Christian Lobby (April 2011), Submission to the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety Inquiry into the Operation of the Prostitution Act 1992, http://australianchristianlobby.org.au/wp-content/uploads/110331-ACL- ACT-prostitution-submission.pdf. 2 Australian Christian Lobby (16 February 2011), Re: Proposed Prostitution Reforms, http://www.acl.org.au/wp- content/uploads/2012/04/110216-ACL-WA-prostitution-submission.pdf. 3 Australian Christian Lobby (March 2012), Submission to the Department of Justice – Regulation of Sex Industry in Tasmania Discussion Paper, http://www.acl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/120322-ACL-Submission-to-the- Regulation-of-the-Sex-Industry-in-Tasmania-Discussion-Paper.pdf. 4 Australian Christian Lobby (August 7, 2012), Submission to the Community Relations Commission – Inquiry into the Exploitation of Women through Trafficking, http://www.acl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/120807-ACL-Submission- to-the-Inquiry-into-the-Exploitation-of-Women-through-Trafficking.pdf. 5 Australian Christian Lobby (October 2012), Submission to the Department of Premier and Cabinet Better Regulation Office – Better Regulation of Brothels