'Underage Prostitutes' - response from BBC

[DannyLaRuesBestFrock]

Meant to post earlier, but a PP posted about BBC online and the oxfam scandal, where sick bastards had procured services from victims to get their sexual kicks.

The BBC stated that the people exploited, could have included 'underage prostitutes'

Agreed by lots of mners, that there isn't such a thing and it is child abuse, the poster prompted people to complain to the BBC.

I was one of them and after a couple of weeks, I did get a response to say that in hindsight, they could have used better wording and will try to do so in the future.

Just wanted to update. I don't think it is enough, but at least they listened?

No of course marriage is not the same as the abusive transaction of sex working, it's whether that abuse when with a 16/17 year old is child abuse.

Which is the point the OP was making.

In the UK it is illegal to work as a prostitute under the age of 18

I suspect it is also therefore illegal to pay for sex with someone under 18

It is illegal to buy sex from a person younger than 18, although theage of consentfor non-commercial sex is 16 throughout the United Kingdom.

The person who commits the offence is the buyer not the seller. Every post on this thread about the age of consent and the age of marriage in the UK is a complete red herring as the legal position so far as prostitution is the same in Haiti and the UK.

Thank you for pointing this out Snibble. I am embarrassed that point did not occur to me.

All of this misdirection around a topic that should be cut and dry.

Oh but adults are often coerced
Oh but you can have sex / get married (with parental consent) in the UK at 16
Oh but cultural relativism

No thanks

And stop erasing the active agent in this

MEN who pay for sex with anyone under 18 should face serious penalties the world over

Children and adults who sell sex should not be crimilaised, disgustingly we have done and probably continue to criminalise children in the UK - often for related crimes. We treat these kid who are in a right state and being controlled by violent abusive men as responsible for their own decisions and give them criminal records.

Oh hold on, the poster earlier also threw "personal resonsibility" into this - applied to the CHILDREN strangely those keen on personal responsibility in these situations don't seem to apply it to the MEN who could take the personal responsibility not to stick their cocks into children OR adults who are in a disaster zone that they have been sent to help.

I too complained to the BBC and received the same response as the Op. I believe that the BBC should have reported on the use of words that minimise abuse, so that it is out there as an issue. If the BBC had made a public stand then we might have seen other reporters and news agencies follow suit.

I wonder how easy it is to enforce the 18 year old cut off point is, I bet most don't know or care how old the woman is? I also wonder how many of these men actually know that it's illegal to pay for sex with a girl aged 16-18?

It's supposed to be a "no excuses" crime to pay for sex with a person who's been trafficked but AFAIK not a single prosecution has ever been brought.

I still feel it's important to have these lines in law so it is clear that these things are unacceptable, the police can use them if they suddenly feel like it, and people like us can agitate to get them enforced better.

The men paying for sex with 16-18, I doubt they give it a second thought, they don't ask, I'm sure, and they don't care. Goes for younger too.

I complained too and got the same response. I’m hoping they got lots of complaints and will not take this seriously. Sad it has to even be flagged up.