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Ask your MP to attend event on 24 March 2020

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade is hosting an event in Westminster on 24 March 2020 (17:30-19:00) for MPs and Lords on what the UK can learn from Sweden’s ground breaking law to tackle demand for prostitution and sex trafficking.

We are calling on all our UK supporters to take a few minutes to write to your MP to ask them to attend this event. We provide a template letter below that you can use. If possible, please edit the letter to make it more personal.

Write to your MP through an online portal:

  1. Go to: http://www.writetothem.com/.
  2. Enter your postcode into the box and click Go.
  3. Scroll down to the Your MP section and click on your MP’s name.
  4. Copy the template letter (below) into the Write your message
  5. Edit the letter if possible to make it more personal. For example, consider editing the first three paragraphs to explain how prostitution and the wider sex trade have affected you and those who are close to you. There are further suggestions below.
  6. Enter your name, email address, and postal address and postcode in the boxes below.
  7. Click Preview and send.
  8. When you’re ready, click I’m happy, send it.

Write to your MP by post or email:

Alternatively, if you want to send the letter using your normal email programme or by post, you can get your MP’s contact details at http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/. Remember to include your full name and postal address, including postcode, in your letter.

The postal address for MPs is: [MP’s name], House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.

We provide a downloadable version of the letter in three different file formats below.

Template letter text (to copy and paste)

Dear

Important event on Tuesday 24 March 2020 at 17:30-19:00 

I am writing as a constituent to express my concern about the ongoing epidemic of male violence against women and girls (VAWG) – from harassment in the streets and online, to child sexual exploitation (CSE) and femicide – and the evidence that this is connected to the normalisation of prostitution, porn, and lap dancing and similar.

Extensive research shows that prostitution is damaging to the women involved. A meta-study conducted by the UCL Institute of Health Equity found that violence is a prominent feature of prostitution, regardless of the setting, that social exclusion is the leading cause of entry, and prostitution usually deepens a woman’s social exclusion.

However, the damage of prostitution doesn’t stop there. There’s also a growing body of research that shows that men who are prostitution buyers are more likely than other men to rape and engage in all forms of VAWG. This is not surprising because prostitution feeds men’s sense of entitlement and superiority – the very attitudes that underpin VAWG.

On Tuesday 24 March 2020, 17:30-19:00 in the Thatcher Room, Portcullis House, the APPG on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade is hosting an event for MPs and Lords on what the UK can learn from Sweden’s ground breaking law (now known as the Nordic Model) to tackle demand for prostitution and sex trafficking. I would be most grateful if you would attend this event.

The Nordic Model (aka the Sex Buyer Law) has now also been adopted in Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Ireland, and Israel. It has several elements:

1. Decriminalisation of those who are prostituted: Prostitution is inherently violent. Women should not be criminalised for the exploitation and abuse they endure.

2. Buying sex becomes a criminal offence: Buying human beings for sex is harmful, exploitative and can never be safe. We need to reduce the demand that drives sex trafficking.

3. Support and exit services: High quality, non-judgemental services to support those in prostitution and help them build a new life outside it, including: access to safe affordable housing; training and further education; child care; legal, debt and benefit advice; emotional and psychological support.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Suggestion for how to personalise the letter

Start the letter with I am writing to you as a constituent….

Introduce yourself and explain what interests and concerns you about prostitution. You may wish to add some personal details into your letter, for example;

  • A personal experience you have had.
  • You could talk about ways in which you feel prostitution has affected you directly in your local community.

Download template letter

We provide three different formats that you can download:

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