We ask Birmingham: Should prostitution be legal?

As it stands prostitution is not strictly illegal in the UK - with Northern Ireland being an exception - however most activities often associated with it are; such as public solicitation, owning a brothel, pimping and kerb crawling.

Research published in 2015 saw that there were 72,800 sex workers in the UK, which has possibly increased with the rise in online services and wider tolerance towards sex work.

While prostitution itself isn’t illegal, many crimes are associated with it. In fact, Birmingham has the fifth highest rate of solicitation across England and Wales. They say it’s the world’s oldest profession - begging the question, should it be legal, and if so how should it be regulated? As it pertains to physical prostitution though, if it is legal - how should it be regulated? We took to the streets of Birmingham to discover your views.

Sandra says: “Yeah, I actually think prostitution should be legal. And I think the reasons are to safeguard the people who are involved in it. Obviously, some people work in the sex industry because that’s a choice they’ve made. But I think a lot of people could perhaps have been trafficked into it or coerced into it. And those are the people who need supporting and who need looking after.”

Jeffrey says: “I think people should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies, regardless if it’s for money, or if it’s just for fun. Because there’s too many things surrounding that at the minute regarding like abortion laws and things, whether they should be abolished or whatever.

“But personally, I think if it’s your body, you do whatever the hell you want with it.” Ramma says: “Anything that would be done to degrade women is not a good thing. And I don’t agree with it.”

Sandra adds: “​​​​Yeah, I think there would have to be bodies that not only looked after the kind of legal side of it, but made sure that women were safe and made sure that women’s health was looked after as well. So there would need to be bodies who made sure that they’re looked after.”