'Sexual entrepreneurs', not prostitutes: Anger erupts in England as guidance says paying for sex only way out for some disabled officers

Police chiefs in Britain have been asking their officers to address prostitutes as "sexual entrepreneurs", leading to accusations that this will lead to normalising the exploitation of women. The National Police Chiefs' Council's (NPCC) guidance has been termed "harmful and inappropriate" by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on Commercial Sexual Exploitation, The Telegraph reported. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who chairs the group, wrote a letter to policing and crime minister Sarah Jones, raising concerns that this move risks "confusion and undermines enforcement of legislation against sexual exploitation".

‘Sex work’ a ‘career choice for some'

Notably, the 'Sex Work National Police Guidance' refers to prostitutes as "sexual entrepreneurs", and tells officers to limit the use of the word “prostitute” or “prostitution” to “specific legal meanings and offences”. It adds that for some of them it is “a necessary survival strategy”, while others “have chosen to engage in commercial sex as a career choice", and "sex work is not necessarily a temporary arrangement that they seek to exit”.

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Criticising the guidance, the APPG said the term “sex work” was not contained in any UK legislation. “It is an ideological, political and deeply contested term, and its recommended use by the NPCC is highly inappropriate,” said the APPG. It also goes against a recommendation by the Commons home affairs select committee, prohibiting the use of the word "sex work" by law enforcement agencies. “This is because the term ‘sex work’ normalises the exchange of money for sex acts as a job. It is not; it is sexual exploitation and abuse,” said the APPG.

‘Only way of physical contact for disabled officers’

The guidance also states that banning paying for sex could cause "significant distress" to disabled officers since, for some of them, "there is no other option and using such services may be their only access to a physical relationship of any kind". The APPG was shocked by this statement, calling it "deeply offensive." It asked police chiefs in England and Wales to follow Scotland police on the matter, who do not use the term “sex work” and “recognised the exchange of money for sex acts as a form of violence against women”.