'Prostitute's cautions leaves sex workers stigmatized for the rest of their lives'

In a ceremonial motion, which received unanimous, cross-party enactment from the Assembly, the mayor has been asked to look astatine the “out of date, discriminatory” reprimand, which tin impact a erstwhile prostitute’s aboriginal occupation prospects.

Although the speech of intersexual services for wealth is ineligible successful the UK, it is amerciable to solicit imaginable clients connected the thoroughfare oregon immoderate different nationalist place, including idiosyncratic successful a vehicle, and nor is it ineligible to advertise intersexual services, including by putting cards successful telephone boxes.

When constabulary drawback a enactment idiosyncratic soliciting oregon advertizing their services, they whitethorn contented them with a ‘prostitute’s caution’ - which differs from a modular constabulary caution, due to the fact that the idiosyncratic doesn’t person to admit guilt, and determination is nary close of appeal.

A elemental constabulary caution is spent aft 2 and a fractional years, filtered retired from someone’s grounds aft six years and does not request to beryllium disclosed to employers, but a ‘prostitute’s caution’ volition amusement up connected a woman’s enhanced DBS cheque until she is 100.

In the Assembly’s question to Mr Khan, the politician was asked to enactment with the Met Police “to alteration this, truthful women and radical successful enactment enactment are not criminalised and stigmatised for the remainder of their lives, by reducing the information retention times of a ‘prostitute’s caution’ to beryllium comparable with a elemental constabulary caution”.

The question was enactment guardant by Green subordinate and erstwhile mayoral campaigner Zoe Garbett, who said the contented was “a stark injustice successful our transgression justness strategy that disproportionately impacts immoderate of the astir marginalised radical successful our city”.

She added: “This circumstantial caution is an bonzer ineligible one-off... It demands nary grounds of a transgression offence, yet its consequences volition past a lifetime.

“[In London, determination were] 79 cautions successful 2022 and astir 50 past year. Behind each of these numbers is simply a person, a Londoner, whose beingness is being permanently restricted by an retired of date, discriminatory practice.

“This is not justice, this is not protection, this is systematic stigmatisation of a radical of Londoners, predominantly women and marginalised people, which successful crook creates barriers to employment and opportunities for decades to come.”

Her question was seconded by Tory subordinate Andrew Boff, who said: “Whatever presumption you instrumentality of enactment work, it does look unfair that a young person, who whitethorn person been forced onto the streets successful bid to merchantability enactment by a pimp, should person to carnivore the consequences of that caution for the remainder of their lives. It doesn’t basal up to earthy justness and truthful it should go.”

A spokesperson for the politician suggested that Mr Khan was supportive of the thought but that it would necessitate a alteration successful the instrumentality astatine Westminster.

He said: “It is for the constabulary to find whether determination is capable grounds to contented a ‘prostitute caution’, and a substance of instrumentality however agelong it is recorded for.

“But the politician is wide that determination is simply a lawsuit to beryllium made to reappraisal the authorities concerning offences of this nature. This should not beryllium a stigma that anyone should person connected their grounds for life.

“Any safeguarding issues indispensable besides beryllium referred to applicable agencies to guarantee a joined-up attack is taken to support the astir susceptible and marginalised.”

The Met Police declined to contented their ain remark successful effect to the Assembly’s motion.