In this working paper, Professor Jo Phoenix reassesses the criminalisation of purchasing sex, arguing that targeting buyers, alongside statutory support for women, offers a clearer and more effective response to exploitation and male violence than the current policy framework.
Drawing on three decades of research into prostitution, youth justice and sexual exploitation, Phoenix traces the transformation of prostitution policy from its roots in public nuisance policing through to the contemporary “twin-track” focus on exploitation and trafficking. She reflects on her own shift in position on the Nordic model, situating it within wider changes in law, policing and the globalisation of the sex market.
Based on this analysis, she argues that informal decriminalisation of selling sex, combined with uneven enforcement against exploitation, has failed to deliver meaningful safety or structural support for women. While arrests of women have declined, poverty, homelessness, male violence and organised exploitation remain entrenched, and statutory provision for those seeking to exit prostitution is patchy or absent.
As Phoenix notes, decades of reform have produced a complex legal framework but limited clarity in practice. In this working paper, she contends that criminalising the purchase of sex, alongside placing support for women on a statutory footing, would provide a clearer enforcement framework, shift responsibility onto buyers, and better align law with long-standing evidence about exploitation and harm.
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies’ working paper series publishes research and analysis of an exploratory nature. Working papers are not formally peer-reviewed, but are intended to stimulate reflection and discussion on current and relevant areas.
