Maria Karaiskos KC and Lesley Manley explore online sexual exploitation in The Times
Writing in The Times, Maria Karaiskos KC and Lesley Manley examine the current legislation around online sexual exploitation, and argue that more robust action must be taken by governments, law enforcement and tech platforms to tackle this epidemic.
The Government has made it a priority to tackle violence against women and girls, with an ambitious target to halve offending within a decade. One area, in particular, merits close attention: the exploitation and abuse of women who are forced to work in prostitution. It has become clear that this vile trade is flourishing, as criminals, traffickers and pimps use online platforms to advertise sexual services. In fact, ministers believe such adult websites are now the “most significant enabler” of trafficking for sexual exploitation. As the Labour MP Tracy Gilbert has said, it is “as easy to order a woman to exploit as it is to order a takeaway”.
Yet our current laws are ill equipped to deal with this epidemic of exploitation. Take, for example, section 46 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, which made it a criminal offence in England and Wales to place adverts for prostitutes in or near telephone boxes. At the time the legislation was introduced, before the era of smartphones, social media and the widespread use of websites, it made perfect sense. Now, it serves vanishingly little purpose.
The Online Safety Act 2023 may help to some extent as it places a duty on websites to reduce the risks their services are being used for criminal activity. However, to prevent online ads being used to facilitate exploitation, more robust and targeted measures are needed. These will require careful drafting to guard against unintended consequences. Whilst prostitution itself is not illegal, it would be counter-productive if the legislation criminalised women who were not being coerced into sex work but found it safer and more convenient to connect with potential clients through online advertising.
At present, there are several pieces of legislation around exploitation and sexual offending that are being under-utilised by police and prosecutors. A report in 2023 from the Commons Home Affairs Committee highlighted that in seven years only three people had been convicted of paying for the sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force, a crime under section 53a of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The Modern Slavery Act 2015, which consolidated existing criminal offences and increased sentences for trafficking and exploitation, has also not been applied as effectively as it could be, with an overall charge rate of less than 2% for offences under the Act, including those relating to trafficking for sexual purposes.
Robust action is required from global governments, law enforcement agencies, technology companies and online platforms. There should be greater accountability for websites. Prevention work and education plays a vital role. Civil orders can help disrupt trafficking networks and grooming gangs. Tough police action, with perpetrators in the dock, sends a powerful signal. Renewed focus on enforcing existing laws – and modernising them to ban the online marketplace for sexual exploitation – is imperative.
Maria and Lesley’s article was published in The Times, 17 April 2025.
