Outcall prostitution services from licensed brothels and independent ‘escort agencies’ should not be legalised in Queensland, according to a recommendation made in a Crime and Misconduct Commission report presented to State Parliament today.
CMC Chairperson Robert Needham says the Commission is concerned that legalising these services could pose too many risks for Queensland and, at the same time, damage the current legal industry (licensed brothels and sole operators).
The CMC has previously reported in its review of the Prostitution Act 1999 that the amount of illegal prostitution in Queensland is quite limited compared with other states of Australia and, most importantly, that large-scale organised crime is virtually non-existent in the Queensland prostitution industry, legal or illegal.
Mr Needham says the information provided to the CMC throughout its recent inquiry into escort services in Queensland suggests that this situation could be put at risk if outcall services from licensed brothels or independent escort agencies were to be legalised.
‘This could include an expansion of the industry which could lead to more organised crime and sex trafficking, as the industry attempted to meet the increased demand for sex workers and the illegal industry competed with the legal industry, ’ Mr Needham said.
‘Taking a precautionary approach, we felt that if there was no clear evidence that these risks could be avoided, we were not prepared to recommend change. Based on the information available to us, we are now firmly of the view that the risks are simply not worth taking,’ Mr Needham said.
‘We are also concerned that the health and safety of sex workers currently providing in-call services for licensed brothels could be jeopardised if they were required to provide outcall services.
‘Nor are we persuaded that legalising escort services would actually encourage illegal operators to move across into the legal industry, an argument frequently put forward for legalising outcall services.
‘Rather, we believe that steps should be taken to sustain the existing legal prostitution industry in other ways, and at the same time provide additional strategies to attack the illegal industry,’ Mr Needham said.
In Queensland, sole operators provide legal in-call and outcall prostitution services, licensed brothels provide legal in-call services only, and all other outcall prostitution services are illegal.
The CMC report Regulating outcall prostitution, released today, as well as recommending that outcall services not be legalised, provides a multi-pronged approach for attacking illegal prostitution in this state.
It includes recommendations which aim to:
- address the way in which illegal prostitution operators currently advertise their businesses
- address the strategies used by illegal operators to masquerade as social escort services or sole operators
- formulate new guidelines for advertising approval for legal prostitution operators (i.e. licensed brothels and sole operators), rather than requiring that each individual advertisement be approved by the Prostitution Licensing Authority
- create new offences that will target illegal escort agencies and disable telephone numbers that have been used to advertise illegal prostitution services
The CMC also recommends significant changes to the safety options for sole operators, which will allow them to employ a receptionist, driver or security guard (provided the employee is not a current sex worker) if they wish to.
The report strongly recommends that all four components be implemented at the same time, because each supports and enhances the others.
‘If the full package that this report recommends is not carried out, then the desired changes for the sex industry in Queensland will be unlikely to occur. Worse, the legal industry might be damaged,’ Mr Needham said.
‘The recommendations aim to create a more equitable situation for legal operators, who are currently impeded by the Prostitution Act and their illegal competitors, and not to damage an industry that is clearly trying to do the right thing.’
