Leading family lobby highlights closeness of brothels to homes and schools under Porter reforms
By Anthony Barich
THE WA State Government’s proposed prostitution laws could see brothels in close proximity to schools and churches and are a serious slight on the government’s credibility, the Australian Family Association has said.
In following up a 2008 election promise, the Attorney General, Christian Porter, said last November that all forms of prostitution would be banned from residential areas with police to be given expanded powers to shut down illegal brothels under the proposed reforms.
The AFA said that while this appears to represent a tightening compared with the previous Labor government’s position – which allowed prostitutes to operate in suburban streets – major flaws appear when the detail is examined in Hansard.
“For brothels existing prior to the reform legislation, it will be business as usual; new brothels will be permitted within 100m of a dwelling, or 200m of protected places (schools, churches, and so on). These distances are laughable, especially when it is remembered that they represent short sprints at athletics meetings,” the AFA said.
A further relaxation is extended to mixed business/residential areas where a distance of only 50m is necessary, the AFA said in a statement.
“Clearly, if the government is to have any credibility in this matter they need to consider distances in excess of 1km,” the AFA said.
This, and other related matters, will be emphasised in the submission the AFA is preparing to present to the Attorney General as it urges concerned West Australians to do likewise.
According to Mr Porter’s 25 November statement, prostitution will be banned from residential areas in WA under the proposed laws and clients caught on unlicensed premises could face fines or jail.
Police will also receive extra powers to shut down illegal brothels under the proposals, under which clients having sex with persons coerced into prostitution would face jail whether they knew the person was coerced or not.
Mr Porter said that the reforms would also include measures that would encourage and support prostitutes to leave the industry, though he did not specify what the measures would be.
He said State government, not local government, would take ultimate responsibility for who was licensed to run a brothel or to be a prostitute and where those ‘businesses’ would be located.
Mr Porter added that the penalty for clients caught entering or leaving an unlicensed brothel would be a fine of up to $6,000 or up to one year in jail.
In a 5 October 2010 letter written to Mr Porter before this announcement, AFA WA vice president Gilian Gonzalez urged further restrictions to brothels approved in non-residential areas:
– Only persons who are owner/managers and WA residents should be able to obtain a licence;
– The full address and name of the brothel owner, as well as trade name, to be shown at the entrance of the brothel;
– Details of all clients to be registered. This would make it easier to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and would discourage violent clients. It could also make it easier for the Australian Taxation Office to make checks and potentially deter sexual trafficking;
– Sexual services to be provided only on licensed premises or (if providing an escort service) in private accommodation owned or rented by the client;
– Restrictions on the nature of sexual services promoted and provided by brothels.
The AFA added that it is common knowledge that an increasing number of brothels now offer “services” which, while not illegal in WA, could pose health and safety risks, particularly to the most vulnerable members of the community.
Some of these “services”, involving prostitutes described as “submissives” in sado masochistic fantasy games, are advertised quite openly in the relevant columns of our State and local newspapers, the AFA said.
“They involve whipping and bondage, among other humiliating practices. There is the danger that this could promote violence and abuse against women in the wider community as acceptable practices,” the AFA said.
“Even more worrying are advertisements offering prostitutes with child-like looks and/or demeanour.
“Apart from promoting sexual fantasy with children, there is the danger of such ads and services being used to identify potential clients for real child sex.
“There is also evidence from ex-prostituted women of some brothels providing sex with pregnant and lactating women for men who have such a fetish. Such practices, apart from exploiting vulnerable women, pose a definite health and safety risk.”
The AFA said all advertisements which suggest that such services are provided should be prohibited.
Submissions on the proposed laws may be directed to: Department of the Attorney General: Prostitution Reform Area, GPO Box F317, PERTH 6841. Phone 9264 1600, Email: prostitution_reform_feedback@justice.wa.gov.au